To Choose
by 6jrz422
Summary: AU Two stubborn people defy their parents to choose their own destiny, but what happens when that destiny is exactly what their parents planned for them? Squinoa, lesser degree Seftis, Selvine
1. Marry

Uploaded: 2009.10.20; 2009.11.08 (fixed a typo and generalized)

Disclaimer: Whatever

Marry

* * *

"You WILL **marry **who I choose!"

"I will NOT marry any boy you choose for me! I will choose my own destiny!" a raven-haired girl screamed at her father.

"Rinoa! You WILL **marry** who I choose! You are too naïve and foolish to choose your own destiny!" The man ordered from across the desk in his study.

* * *

"I will never marry who you pick!" a brunette declared to his father.

"Squall! You have to at least **meet** the girl! I know you're responsible enough to find your own dates, but just think of all the trouble I went through to help you with your social problems!" The man exasperated while wringing his hands at the front door to the Presidential Palace.

* * *

"I don't have to meet any boy YOU chose for me to marry, GENERAL!" Rinoa retorted.

"Your party boys are nothing like this one! At least give the boy **a chance**!" the general commanded.

* * *

"A chance? Kind of like how I gave you a chance to make up the 17 years of my life that I thought my parents were dead only to find that only one was, the other was too busy acting like a bumbling idiot president to have time for me?" Squall accused.

"Please Squall! This isn't about me or our past! This is truly the best for you! She's a lot of **fun**!" the president begged.

* * *

"Fun? How can anybody YOU chose for me be fun? General Caraway's idea of 'fun' is probably beating prisoners and disorderly soldiers alike into a bloody pulp! For YOUR information GENERAL, I don't want to be beaten as entertainment!" Rinoa goaded.

"This boy has come highly recommended! He's well-known for being **kind and caring**!" General Caraway defended.

* * *

"You think every girl is kind and caring! You don't know how to read people at all! I'm disgraced that the blood tests labeled me a Loire!" Squall snarled.

"Squall! If you don't trust my judgment why won't you at least see her for yourself? All I ever wanted is for you to have a **comfortable life**!" President Loire beseeched.

* * *

"I don't need YOU finding me a guy to live comfortably with! I can do that just fine on my own! How would YOU, GENERAL GEORGE CARAWAY, even know what a comfortable life is? If you think an overly strict general barking orders for the few hours he was actually home is comfortable then I don't want YOUR comfortable!" Rinoa exclaimed, seething in rage as she used her father's full name with the title.

The general took a few moments to suppress his own growing anger. He didn't need the tabloids to have his face smeared across the cover along with the title 'Renown General Beats Daughter'. He smiled at a new approach to use.

"Rinoa, this boy is highly sought after. I've been told he's very **handsome**." General George Caraway replied calmly with a grin.

* * *

"I don't care if she's the most beautiful creature on the planet! The mere idea that you, Laguna Loire, the klutz, the fool, picked her is what repulses me!" Squall didn't drop the volume to match his father's.

"Squall! What about your **reputation**? You know most boys are at least dating by now!" President Laguna Loire implored.

* * *

"MY reputation? Don't you mean YOUR reputation, Caraway? You know damn well I never cared about MY reputation. It was ALWAYS about YOURS and how much of an embarrassment I am to you!" Rinoa yelled.

"What does this have to do with YOUR REPUTATION? I'll tell you what! You two will **tour the world **together! The world will follow the most important couple in the world on this tour! The arrangements have already been made!" Caraway revealed.

* * *

"You already made arrangements for me to tour the world with some random girl? You didn't even ask me! I don't even want to spend a second of my life with some girl you chose yet you already stick me in a world wide tour with her?" Squall berated his father.

"Squall! You don't understand! Just think of it as a grand vacation! It'll be **benefiting the world**!" Laguna urged.

* * *

"Benefitting the world? Like I care about that! I am 18 Caraway! I'm a teenager! We don't care about the world!" Rinoa shouted.

"Oh now I've heard it all! What do you think your **mother would think**? What would she think of the selfish and spoiled daughter you've grown up to be? I'm sure Julia Heartily would feel as disgraced as I do!" Caraway suggested.

* * *

"Don't you dare even mention mom! You abandoned her and me to go off on your grand dreams of revolution!" Squall scolded.

"Squall! I didn't abandon you and Raine Leonhart! If I didn't leave Ellone would have been left to that crazy Doctor Odine! Don't you even want to know **who it is?** She's very popular!" Laguna tried one last time.

* * *

"No I don't want to know who it is! I already know it's one of your despicable ranking officers, probably three times my age!" Rinoa sniped.

"That's it! I've had it up to HERE with your mouth! You WILL marry this boy or you will NEVER see another boy in your **life**!" Caraway ended the conversation.

* * *

"We'll see about that!" Squall growled as he pushed past Laguna to exit the palace.

"Where are you going?" Laguna asked, almost as if two seconds ago they hadn't been in a heated argument.

"I was supposed to meet Seifer, he wanted a rematch." Squall slid his gunblade into its harness at his hip.

"Well make sure you two don't get carried away like last time!" Laguna called out as Squall disappeared down the driveway.

Squall frowned; Seifer and he had given each other permanent reminders of their friendship in their last gunblade duel. Matching scars ran across their foreheads, right between the eyes. Squall didn't care about the scar to what he had been told was a _perfect_ face; he won the duel anyway. Squall merely hated his father for never shutting up about it.

* * *

Rinoa found she was locked in her bedroom after her argument with her _father_. Rinoa swore she was going to get a biology degree so she could prove that she wasn't really related to _that_ man.

Rinoa smiled for the first time since entering the house.

'When will Caraway ever learn? Locking the door means nothing when there's windows!' Rinoa thought cheerfully as she pulled out her cell phone.

After a few moments a voice picked up on the other end.

"Hello?" A female voice answered.

"Selphie! Are you off work yet?" Rinoa asked enthusiastically

"Uh I will if you let me finish this last order." Rinoa could hear Selphie try to cover the mouthpiece while she yelled at her customer telling him that Rinoa was more important than his side order of curly fries.

Rinoa giggled. "Selphie! You're supposed to be nice to the customers! You're going to get yourself fired!"

"Yea well, I hated this job anyway. My boyfriend said he would hire me if I lost my job so I'm not too concerned."

"Really? Irvine said that? What would you do? Wait. Irvine owns a business?"

Selphie laughed through the phone. "That's EXACTLY what I said! He said he'd find something."

Rinoa laughed even harder. "Selphie! That means he doesn't really have a job for you to take! Don't get fired!"

"Well that would be easier if you let me get back to taking this guy's order. He doesn't even want curly fries anymore! Now he wants garlic fries!" Selphie exclaimed with a gasp of frustration.

"Oh yea! I have to tell you and Quisty something. Can I meet you two at the café in like 10?"

"Yea sure. See you soon Rinny." Rinoa could hear Selphie yelling at her customer to make up his mind before the phone was silenced.

Rinoa quickly dialed another number. This one picked up immediately.

"Hello?" Another female voice answered.

"Quisty! You free?" Rinoa got straight to the point; she now had a 10-minute timetable to work with. Well, maybe 9 minutes now.

"Rinny, you know I'm always free besides the times you and I go to Matron's to help with the orphans."

"I had to ask! And I thought we stopped calling them orphans."

"Fine, children. What did you call for?"

"Oh, meet me and Selphie at the café in like…" Rinoa looked at her clock, "8."

"Alright, Bye Rinny." Quistis hung up.

Rinoa quickly walked to one of the many windows in her gigantic room and shoved it open. She went to her closet and pulled out her escape rope, made out of many bed sheets tied together. Rinoa tied one end to her bedpost and slung the other out the window. She tested its weight before actually descending from her 3rd floor window down to the garden below.

Rinoa ran through the garden towards the front gate, passing the best part of the garden, a statue of her mother playing on a grand piano.

When Rinoa reached the front gate she slowed her pace to sneak by the guard on duty, it wasn't too hard; the post was setup to spot vehicles, not people crawling by. Once through Rinoa checked her cell phone to see she only had 5 minutes until she was late for the meeting she herself called. Rinoa took off at a sprint towards the café.

* * *

Squall arrived at the top of the hill to see Seifer lounging against the great tree occupying the very apex.

"Damn Puberty Boy! I thought you chickened out!" Seifer smirked as he saw Squall approaching. "We agreed to meet here 30 minutes ago!"

"Sorry. My idiot father had this stupid idea to marry me off to some chick." Squall informed Seifer.

Seifer burst out laughing. "Laguna is such a moron! He wouldn't even know whether the chick was female! I assume you told him to shove it?"

"Pretty much." Squall grinned, leave it to Seifer to know exactly what to say to brighten his mood. The two had been best friends their entire life. Whenever one started something, the other soon took it up. And once both were sufficiently proficient, or not, they would hold endless competitions. The perfect rivalry. Squall learned to ride a bike, Seifer followed suit and raced until Seifer lost control and ran into a parked car. Seifer learned to pick locks, Squall took up the hobby until they were both caught trying to open Ellone's diary; she wasn't very happy. Seifer learned to box, Squall took it up as well until they both returned home with broken noses. Most recently Squall had taken up the gunblade and both boys were very nearly equally capable with it.

"So you ready to get your butt kicked?" Seifer challenged as he unsheathed Hyperion, his gunblade.

"I don't know, you ready for me to finish that x in between your eyes?" Squall countered as he followed Seifer's lead and withdrew Lionheart.

The two boys charged each other and the duel began.

* * *

Rinoa arrived at the café 4 minutes late huffing and puffing.

'Geez! I need to get back in shape! I can't believe it took me so long to run a mile!' Rinoa berated herself.

"Rinny!" Rinoa heard Selphie scream as she entered the café.

"You're late." Quistis stated with a lot less excitement.

"Sorry, I ran as fast as I could. I need to get back to working out. Quisty you want to join me?" Rinoa asked looking for some moral support.

Selphie and Quistis looked Rinoa up and down. "You don't need to work out. You've always had the perfect body Rinoa!"

"9 minutes to run a mile, that's disgraceful! And I feel like I'm going to die right now!" Rinoa exclaimed with disgust.

"Well I'll go get you a drink, hold up!" Selphie literally bounced all the way to the counter where she grabbed a large cup and filled it with water before bouncing back to the table. "Here you go!"

"Thanks Selphie!" Rinoa chugged half the cup of water before putting it down.

"So Rinoa, what was so important for us to meet?" Quistis asked seeing that Rinoa was breathing close to normal finally.

"Oh, Caraway just told me he plans to marry me off to some foreign dignitary!"

"What? No way!" Both Quistis and Selphie exclaimed.

"That's what I said! But he went on some long explanation about it. I don't think he's going to take no as an answer." Rinoa looked sad. She had never really experienced love. Sure she had dated some guys but they always ended up wanting her for the wrong reasons; her breasts, her money, her breasts, her fame, her breasts, her family ties, her breasts. It looked like now she would never realize what love really was.

"Well is the guy at least hot?" Selphie asked trying to lighten the depression Rinoa was rapidly falling into.

"I don't know! I've never met the guy; never seen the guy!" Rinoa exclaimed.

"Well, maybe it won't be that bad. Maybe he's like a foreign celebrity, or movie star!" Selphie shouted excitedly. "Could it be Prad Bitt? He's so hot and he's not from Galbadia! He's from Balamb so maybe he's your future husband!"

"Selphie! This is General Caraway who is arranging the marriage! That alone means it isn't a movie star!" Rinoa laughed at Selphie's misplaced enthusiasm.

"She's right, Selphie. With Mr. Caraway making the decision. It's probably a foreign general… which means he's probably 60." Quistis gave Rinoa a very apologetic look, "Sorry Rinoa, Selphie really would have never figured it out on her own."

"It's okay Quisty, my fate is probably decided no matter what I do now." Rinoa looked defeated. She didn't really know what she had hoped to accomplish by telling her best friends about her predicament. Maybe she just wanted someone to comfort her knowing that Caraway would never do that. "I'm only 18! Why do I have to be married already? I just wanted to experience the kind of love you and Irvine have Selphie! Just once! Is that too much to ask for? To be loved?"

Rinoa was breaking down in tears and both of her friends were startled. Rinoa had always hidden her innocent-self behind a stonewall of strength, mostly developed from constant bickering with her overbearing father.

"Rinny!" Selphie pleaded, "Please don't cry! It's not over yet! Maybe you will find love still! Who knows, maybe the 60-year-old is very lovable! I mean, I love my grandpa!"

Rinoa stared at Selphie through her tearstained face. "I don't want to marry your grandpa Selphie!"

"Well…" Selphie thought hard for a moment, "I know! You can have an affair!"

Quistis and Rinoa just stared at Selphie as the girl beamed at herself for her idea.

Rinoa brought her hands up to her face, which sunk, as one, back down to the table as she mumbled, "I'm doomed."

* * *

The two gunblades glinted in the evening sun as their owners struggled for dominance in yet another bout of competition.

"So how are you going to avoid this marriage?" Seifer idly chatted as the two fought.

"I don't know. Just won't show up to anything I guess." Squall returned as he swung for Seifer's neck.

Seifer brought his blade up to block, "That doesn't sound so full proof to me." Seifer swung at Squall's knees.

Squall dropped his blade to block, "Got a better idea?" Squall sliced at Seifer's right arm.

Seifer dodged out of the way and kicked Squall back as he struggled to regain his balance, "I just might."

Neither boy closed the gap between them created when Squall was kicked back.

"Call it for today?" Squall asked heaving to an equally out-of-breath Seifer.

"Yeah." Seifer collapsed where he had been standing to the dirt ground below.

Squall followed suit but crawled over to a rock to rest his back against. "You going to tell me your idea to…"

CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! A train had just arrived in Esthar North Station, right behind the duel hill.

Seifer smirked. "That."

Squall contemplated it for a moment. "Where would I go?"

"Somewhere with enough people to get lost in." Seifer quickly replied.

"Esthar is the largest city in the world. Deling is the next largest. There?" Squall asked as he mulled the idea over.

"That would work." Seifer nodded.

"Hmm, no stupid president pestering me all the time, sounds like paradise." Squall commented.

"Yeah. You know, you're the only person I'll ever meet who can't put up with one man's stupidity in order to gain the wealth of the world." Seifer laughed.

"Would you like to take my place as Laguna's son?" Squall asked as he raised an eyebrow at Seifer.

Seifer stopped laughing for a moment before replying, "Yeah you're probably right, I'd end up killing the guy after the first week."

Squall burst out laughing. "Alright, I guess if I'm going to hightail it I better get to it before Laguna sends a search party out here for me."

"Yeah. Hey, I'll come with you. We can wreck havoc in Deling together, just like we used to in Balamb!" Seifer shouted as his eyes lit up with the possibilities.

"Sounds good! Let's go before we have to wait for another train." Squall got up and sheathed his gunblade before breaking into a jog towards the Esthar North Station. Seifer had to hurry to catch up. Squall added one more comment before disappearing into the station, "Anything is better than having to marry a random girl right?"


	2. Meet

Uploaded: 2009.10.22 (If you're a college student you can get Windows 7 for 29.99, it better be better than Vista)

Disclaimer: Whatever

Meet

* * *

"You have to at least **meet** the girl!"

The plea from his father was so pathetic it made Squall sick, even in his dreams.

Squall was rudely awakened by a bawling baby as the train arrived in Deling City in the middle of the night. Squall got out with the only possession he had with him at the time, Lionheart. A cranky Seifer followed.

"Why the hell didn't we buy our own cabin? That woman doesn't deserve to have a baby if she can't make it shut up!"

"What are you complaining about? You only had to listen to the damn thing! I had to avoid its drool too!" Squall snapped.

Seifer looked around at the deserted train station then at the clock and calendar. "Damn easterners! We lost a full day!"

"Who cares? It's not like we had an appointment." Squall shrugged nonchalantly.

The parking lot was deserted. Only one car remained in the parking lot and by the way the hood was propped up and smoke billowing, it wasn't leaving anytime soon. Seifer chuckled at the owner's expense.

Squall took a kinder approach and walked closer, hand on Lionheart incase it turned out to be a trap; one could never tell this late at night.

* * *

"I can't believe this Rinoa! You have servants! Why aren't they maintaining your car for you?" Quistis was panicking. It was a horrible idea for two girls to be stranded in an empty parking lot after midnight.

"Well I'm sorry Quisty! Maybe if you weren't so worried about Selphie and Irvine messing up your back seat we wouldn't be in this predicament!" Rinoa exclaimed in frustration. 'This is just not my week.' Rinoa thought, 'first I get chained into some unknown arranged marriage, then my car conks out right after we drop Selphie and Irvine off for their trip to Fisherman's Horizon! Why did they have to take the red-eye train? Who cares if it was half price?'

Rinoa was frantically poking around the hood of the car while Quistis filed her nails in the passenger seat, refusing to help because she blamed their predicament completely on Rinoa.

"Rinoa! How could you have let your cell phone die anyway?" Quistis called out as she used what limited power the car had left to turn on the vanity lights and check her handy work.

"I could ask you the same Quistis!" Rinoa was getting a bit peeved at Quistis. There was no way they could walk back home. It was miles, past midnight, and the surrounding neighborhood wasn't the greatest. In fact, Rinoa remembered someone being murdered just a few blocks away last year. And there was a reported rapist in a nearby neighborhood.

Rinoa heard a chuckle approaching the car from the trunk. Her eyes went wide in horror. Quistis noticed Rinoa's expression change and quickly screamed out to Rinoa.

"Rinoa! Get in the car! Lock the doors!"

Rinoa moved faster than she thought possible, but in her haste she missed the door handle several times. Luckily Quistis opened the door from the inside. Rinoa dove in and slammed the door shut, locking them both.

"Who were they? A gang? The rapist?" a worried Quistis asked.

"I don't know." Rinoa shivered as she kept glancing in every direction expecting someone to suddenly drop on the hood.

"Rinoa. This is all your fault! You should have made sure the car was street worthy! I swear! If it's the rapist or the gang I'm splitting a deal with them, they can have your ass if they give me mine." Quistis stated seriously.

Rinoa's jaw dropped. "What? You'd sacrifice me just so you can get away?"

Quistis just stared back, completely honest and replied, "Of course, you were the one complaining about being forced to marry that one foreigner the other day. You were resigned to your loveless life. Well, I'm not resigned to that fate yet."

* * *

Squall and Seifer cautiously approach the car, gunblades drawn. Seifer had stopped laughing at the person's misfortunes when they heard screams from inside the car. Was someone being murdered? Raped? They had always known Deling to be a less civilized nation than Esthar, but to rape someone in the Deling Train Station parking lot was a bit bold, even for a backwater city like Deling.

As the two moved closer they could tell someone was definitely in the car, the windows were fogged up due to someone's body heat inside versus the chilling cold outdoors. Seifer was filled with dread and called Squall over to devise a plan.

The two formulated a plan. Well, Seifer formulated a plan.

"Squall, you go check the car, I'll cover you."

Squall stared at Seifer. "Cover me? With what? You don't have a gun."

"It doesn't matter," Seifer saw that Squall wasn't going to do it without at least a crappy reason. "Fine, you're doomed to an arranged marriage, I'm not; I still have my chances out there. That a good enough reason for you?"

Squall thought about it a moment then nodded and approached as Seifer smirked and faded back incase things got ugly; namely, if Squall's head blew up anytime soon.

Squall slowly approached the driver's side window.

* * *

Rinoa was still staring at Quistis, both had forgotten their predicament and were just arguing about whose life was more important.

Knock, knock.

Both girls screamed and ducked for cover.

* * *

Squall heard the scream loud and clear. There were definitely girls in there. After a few moments of silence, Squall decided to try again.

Knock, knock.

Rinoa and Quistis screamed again. They turned to face each other and whispered over the front seat cup holders.

"You idiot!" Rinoa hissed. "Your yelling probably alerted them that we're in here!"

"MY yelling? Rinoa dear, did you happen to hear yourself wail so loud I'm sure we won't have to worry! You're father probably heard you all the way back at your mansion!" Quistis hissed back.

Knock, knock.

* * *

Another pair of screams greeted Squall's third attempt to knock on the fogged up driver's seat window. Squall turned back to where Seifer was still hiding.

"Yo, Seifer, I think it's just a couple girls here. Get your cowardly butt over here."

Knock, knock.

* * *

Rinoa and Quistis heard every word the man said. They were prepared for the knocking this time and didn't scream as before.

"I told you they heard you! He just called over more friends to rape us!" Rinoa cried softly.

"Here's the plan Rinoa, you open your door and when they grab you, I'll run out my door and try to save you." Quistis whispered to Rinoa.

Rinoa stared at Quistis, "Why am I bait? They're on my side, why don't you open your door, get them to run to your side, then I'll come out and we surround them?"

Quistis stared at Rinoa, "What? So I can be the bait? You heard him! There's at least two of them Rinoa! How are we going to surround two of them? For all we know there's more than two!"

Rinoa gulped. "Well then how was your plan supposed to work? How would you save me?"

Quistis fidgeted, "Well, you'd go out, I'd wait a bit so they thought you were the only one, then I'd come out, assess the situation and take the most logical actions from there."

"And how much can I bet the most logical action for you is to run away as soon as they're busy raping me?" Rinoa muttered.

Knock, knock.

* * *

Squall and Seifer heard more screaming from inside the car.

"Hey you girls! We know you're in there! Get the FUCK out now!" Seifer tried.

Squall just stared at Seifer. "And how is that supposed to get terrified girls out of a car?"

"I dunno but your knocking on the window is obviously not working." Seifer scowled

"Alright let me try something different." Squall knocked three times on the window.

"Oh, very genius of you Mr. Squall! If two knocks didn't work, let's try three!" Seifer gave his best 'retard' impression.

Squall ignored him. "Excuse me, you girls in there, we were just wondering if you needed help with your car. We won't hurt you! I swear! If not, you can cut Seifer's dick off." Squall finished smiling wickedly at Seifer.

"Oh very funny Mr. Squall! Ladies! He offered my dick because he already lost his." Seifer shot back at Squall.

* * *

"Oh my Hyne! These guys are into dismemberment! We're going to end up strewn across the continent!" Rinoa wailed.

"I swear Rinoa! This is your fault! Go repent for your sins and confront them!" Quistis urged.

"My sins? I'm not religious Quisty!"

* * *

"Uh you guys? You weren't whispering just then. And I gotta say, you're kinda gross. My buddy Squall here still has his dick. I was joking. Now will you stop screaming and let someone help you?" Seifer asked in his nicest voice, a sure sign he wasn't finding the situation amusing anymore.

Silence fell around the car for a moment before Squall tried his luck as well. "Look, how about you just defog the window a little so you can see that we mean you no harm and then we can go about helping you with your car and we can all be on our way?"

* * *

Rinoa looked at Quistis, "Is it a trick?"

Quistis' face showed pure terror, "I don't know, just do as they say Rinoa, maybe they'll let one of us go."

Rinoa was tired of being scared out of her wits; she reached up…

* * *

Seifer and Squall were trying to peer through the driver's side window when all of a sudden a hand slapped onto it. Both boys yelled in surprise and tumbled backwards onto their asses.

The hand was removed and a head popped up through the small area of defogged window space.

* * *

"I don't see anyone Quisty." Rinoa said from her spot looking out the window.

"How can that be? I wasn't hallucinating!" Quistis asked in bewilderment.

* * *

Squall was the first to get up and when he did he noticed the white pupil of someone in the car quickly dart down upon seeing him.

Squall walked over to the cleared space on the window and looked down, he could vaguely make out a girl in light blue in the driver's seat stuffing her head between her legs under the steering wheel.

"Uh, I can kinda see you in there."

The girl's right hand lifted slightly and pointed at herself.

"Uh yea, you in the blue."

* * *

'Oh shit!' Rinoa tried to quickly sit up so she could see who was talking only to bang her head into the steering wheel above her.

Rinoa screamed out in pain.

Quistis had her head down the whole time but looked up at Rinoa's cry. She looked towards Rinoa and the window to see a white pupil and a blue eye staring at her through the slowly shrinking clear space on the window. She screamed and ducked for cover again.

* * *

"Um, honestly, I'm not going to hurt you. I mean, if we were, don't you think we would have just broken the window by now? We've been doing this for the past half hour." Squall tried speaking logically.

Seifer was still sitting down watching the hopelessness of the situation. 'Hyne damnit! Why were girls so Hyne damned dumb?'

* * *

Rinoa looked at Quistis. "Wait, they're right. Couldn't they have just broken the window a long time ago?"

Quistis looked back in confusion but covered it up quickly, "Well I knew that, I was just waiting to see how long it took you to figure that out." She gave off a nervous chuckle.

Rinoa stared at Quistis and shook her head before getting up and settling back into the driver's seat properly. She wiped the window clear so she could see exactly who was out there. Once she had, her breath caught at the sight of the only color coming through the window, striking blue eyes, partially covered by strands of dark hair, maybe brown.

"Um, hi, we were just playing around with you." Rinoa laughed awkwardly, "So you think you can help us?"

At that moment another boy got up and came into view.

'Oh Hyne! They're all below the window! They were just trying to get us comfortable! Now they're going to rape us!' Rinoa's mind went back into panic mode.

Quistis was watching calmly from her side, she was confident that all of the guys outside were on Rinoa's side. She took a good look at the new comer, piercing green eyes topped with spiky blonde hair. Quistis grinned; at least the two rapists were hot.

* * *

Squall looked in, besides the girl's clothes she was like black and white. Crème colored skin, raven black hair, and maybe black or brown eyes, quite hard to tell in the dark. The girl's companion was in pink with blonde hair, blue eyes, and pale skin.

"Um, alright I guess you two have a right to not trust us, is it okay if I go take a look?" Squall pointed towards the open hood.

The raven-haired girl nodded and Squall went to the billowing smoke. It didn't take long for him to determine that it was a lost cause. Squall pulled a screwdriver out from the engine. Whatever they had tried using the screwdriver for sure didn't help matters.

Squall walked back over to the window, the girl was still staring out, she seemed to be looking to see if anyone was hiding below the door.

Squall knocked on the window to get her attention, he saw her jump back and scream before looking up at him. 'Frightened little thing isn't she?'

Squall cleared his throat, "Well your engine looks shot. This thing won't be moving anytime soon. Have you called a tow truck or anything?"

* * *

Rinoa shook her head, "Our cell phones are dead."

The man with the blue eyes shook his head. "Ever thought of using the pay phone over there?" He pointed towards the train station and Rinoa noticed a pay phone.

"Uh," Rinoa fished for excuses, "We don't have change."

* * *

Squall frowned, and took his cell phone out of his pocket and held it to the window for the girl to see.

The door opened and the girl timidly accepted the cell phone.

* * *

With the door open, both girls decided to take the chance to get a good look at more than just the boy's faces. They noticed each had a sword.

"Rinoa! He has a sword!" Quistis exclaimed and yanked Rinoa back into the car; Rinoa pulled the door along with her.

Rinoa was shaking, "I was so close to dying Quistis!"

"Who cares? We have a phone! Call for a tow truck!"

Rinoa quickly dialed and a man answered.

* * *

Seifer was rolling on the ground laughing, luckily he had sheathed his gunblade otherwise he would have probably stabbed himself.

"Man did you see how fast they jumped back in once they saw we were armed?"

Squall was chuckling a bit as well. "Oh yea. Let's just hope I can get my phone back."

"Oh yea." Seifer's laughter subsided some.

Squall saw the girl close his phone and look at him, clearly frightened again. Squall frowned and sheathed his gunblade. He had forgotten he had drawn it earlier. Squall brought both empty hands up to the window to show that the gunblade wasn't in his hands anymore then pointed at his phone.

"Can I get my phone back now?"

* * *

Rinoa shook her head. "You still have your sword! Go put it somewhere else!"

The man frowned, "It's not a sword, it's a gunblade!" despite this he walked to where Seifer sat, and placed the gunblade and sheath next to his friend.

Rinoa reopened her door.

* * *

"Okay, let's try this again." Squall took a deep breath. "I'm Squall, that fool is Seifer," Squall waved back towards Seifer who was still seated, "Now who are you?"

The one in blue spoke up, "I'm Rinoa, that's Quistis," She flicked her head over her shoulder to the girl in pink.

"Great, we're not here to hurt you we just noticed your car seemed to have some problems, well major problems. Did you get a tow truck?" Squall asked.

"Yes, it'll be here by 9." Rinoa answered.

Squall blinked, "9? It's 1, you have to wait 8 hours?"

"Well, everyone's asleep, the mechanic can't wake anyone up to tow us there until 9." Rinoa looked worried.

"So what are you girls going to do?" Squall inquired.

"Sit and wait." Rinoa said.

Squall glanced back at Seifer. "How far away is the shop?"

"It's on Elm and Pole." Rinoa answered.

"I'm not from around here, where is that?" Squall asked confused.

"I don't know, Quisty, do you know where Elm and Pole is?" Rinoa turned back to her friend still in the car. The girl shook her head. "Nope we don't either." Rinoa chirped.

Squall brought he hand to his forehead, 'they're airheads.' Squall quickly redialed the last number called.

"Hi, did a young lady just call you about a tow truck? Yes, I'm with her right now, I was wondering if we could just push the car to your shop. We're at the Deling Train Station. Oh that's great, so how do we get to the shop? I'm sorry I don't know where Elm and Pole is, I'm not from here, and the girl doesn't seem to know her way there either." Squall quickly glared at Rinoa. "Alright, thanks, we'll be there within an hour."

Squall hung up the phone and dropped it into his pocket before turning to Seifer.

"Hey get up, we're pushing the thing a couple blocks." Squall turned back to Rinoa. "Rinoa, me and Seifer will push your car to Zell's auto shop, you girls can sit inside and steer, put her in neutral."

"Her? Whose her?" Rinoa asked confused.

Squall's face fell, "The car!"

"Oh! Okay." Rinoa put the car in neutral, "Do you need help?"

Squall walked to the hood and dropped it down with a bang. "Well we need one of you to steer, the other can do whatever."

"What would help the most?" Rinoa asked as she tilted her head. Squall thought it made her look so innocent; then again, by the questions she was asking, she probably was innocent.

"Walking, less weight in the car is better."

Rinoa turned to Quistis, "Quisty! Walk! I'll steer." Rinoa plopped down in the driver's seat.

Quistis just stared at Rinoa. "I'm not walking! You walk. I'll drive."

"Nu-uh! It's my car! I'm driving!" Rinoa retorted.

"It's your fault you can't take care of your car, you're walking!" Quistis shot back.

Rinoa frowned, "Fine, you drive! You lazy fat ass."

Quistis grinned and crawled into the driver's seat once Rinoa vacated it. "Least this 'lazy fat ass' ain't walking!"

Rinoa joined Squall and Seifer behind the car but didn't offer to help push. It looked tough.

The two boys began pushing the car while Rinoa walked next to Squall chattering away. Squall decided Rinoa's constant chatter actually served a purpose, Seifer and him were being entertained by some of the sheer stupid things she was saying. They laughed even harder when she stuck her tongue out at them and called them a meanie for making fun of her.

* * *

About an hour later, a car and two boys whom had all seen better days, a girl who seemed to have her tongue permanently sticking out at the boys laughing at her, and another girl fully rested arrived at Zell's auto shop.

"Oh my Hyne! We made it!" Quistis exclaimed from inside the car, "I'm so tired!"

The other three just glared at her as Rinoa and Squall walked into the shop that was apparently still running despite it being 2 in the morning. They were greeted by a short blonde man with a large tattoo along his left cheek.

"Hi, welcome to my auto shop! How may I help you at this ungodly hour?"

Rinoa shrank back to the door, apparently afraid so Squall took it upon himself to resolve the girls' problem. "We talked on the phone an hour ago. Her car has problems."

Zell glanced at the frightened looking Rinoa, "Hey now, I'm not big and scary," He tried to soothe her. "It's the tattoo isn't it?" Zell sighed when Rinoa nodded. "Don't worry about it, it's something that runs in my family."

Rinoa nodded but wouldn't let Squall get out from between her and Zell. Apparently Rinoa had learned to trust Squall in the last hour.

"Anyway, any idea what the problem is?" Zell asked as they headed out the door to take a look at the car.

Squall was 100% sure that question couldn't be answered by anyone other than himself, "Well, I found this stuck in the engine," Squall pulled out the screwdriver. Rinoa's eye's bulged before she hid her face.

"Well, that could always be a problem, never a good thing to have random objects stuck in the engine." Zell was trying to not sound too condescending. He lifted the hood and glanced at the car for a few minutes. "I'm going to guess that screwdriver was never in the engine while it was working was it?"

Rinoa shook her head.

"And the car sputtered a lot but just wouldn't turn on."

Rinoa nodded.

"And then you opened the hood and tried fixing it."

Rinoa nodded again.

"What were you trying to fix again?"

Rinoa looked as if she was about to cry. "I don't know! The engine wouldn't spin! So I thought I could open it and make it spin."

Zell nodded slowly as Seifer and Squall stared at her. Zell spoke slowly as if speaking to a retard, "And you thought to open an engine you stab it with a screwdriver?

Now Rinoa was crying, "I didn't know what to do! I've never done this before!" Before Squall could do anything Rinoa had fallen into him and he held her to keep her from falling to the ground.

"No don't cry!" Zell pleaded, "Just, next time, call for help or something, all you needed was a jump, your battery was dead. But now we have to replace the engine."

It didn't comfort Rinoa, she kept balling, and Squall kept trying to comfort her.

"Anyway, it's going to take me a while to get to the car, I have to order the engine and I have a huge line of cars needing repair still. I can let you borrow a car to get home tonight." Zell offered and then looked at Rinoa who had begun to stop crying, "But please, if something happens to the car, call me. Don't try to fix it."

Rinoa nodded and Zell handed her some keys, "Take the red one, it'll fit you four."

"Oh me and Seifer aren't with them." Squall quickly stated.

Zell stared at him, or more likely, Rinoa in his arms. "Really? Um, okay. I can lend you a car too."

"Oh, actually I was wondering if you knew anywhere close by we could stay the night on credit? And if you know of any jobs available. Me and Seifer are new here." Squall said.

Zell looked Squall up and down. "Actually, I could use some help, I mean I have like a 20 car waitlist to repair, it's hard being the only repair shop in all of Deling City. Especially when there's so many people who don't know how to take care of their cars." Zell glanced at Rinoa who was now just resting her head against Squall's chest.

'Not with them eh?' Zell thought. "Would you like to work here? I assume you were the level headed one that got them here."

"Yea, and that sounds great, didn't think we'd find a job so quickly." Squall said.

"Okay, great! Alright as for accommodations, there's an apartment building down the street, I'm not sure if they'll take credit but if you have collateral it might work." Zell offered.

"Alright we'll try there, we don't have much collateral though, just our gunblades and what we're wearing. We kinda left spontaneously." Squall explained.

"I'm sure a gunblade would work as collateral." Zell said.

"I'm not giving up Hyperion!" Seifer exited from the passenger seat, apparently he had been talking with Quistis the whole time; or maybe just laughing as he frightened her to death with threats of raping her.

"Whatever," Squall stated, "We done here?"

"Yea, come back tomorrow, er today, at 8! We'll hit that line of cars hard!" Zell shouted as he jabbed in the direction of a lot of parked cars.

Squall and Seifer waited for Rinoa and Quistis to pile into the red car and take off down the street before heading down the road to the apartment complex. Luckily there was a sparsely furnished apartment available. Luckily they took Squall's Lionheart as collateral until he could come up with the month's rent. Unluckily it was a single bedroom, single bathroom apartment and Squall forced Seifer to sleep on the couch in the living room while he took the bedroom since he was the one who had to part temporarily with his gunblade.

Squall laid back in the bed recounting the night's events. 'Who'd have thought we'd meet such strange people so soon?'


	3. A Chance

Uploaded: 2009.10.25

Disclaimer: Whatever

A Chance

* * *

"At least give the boy **a chance**!"

Rinoa was furious. Caraway couldn't get it through his thick skull that she wasn't going to give anyone he chose for her a chance.

"I told you last time, NO! I will NEVER give anyone you choose a chance!" Rinoa screamed as she rushed out of Caraway's study.

"Where the HELL do you think YOUR going young lady? You better not be seeing any boys!" Caraway's voice thundered after Rinoa as she dashed for the front door.

Rinoa ignored him as she pulled out the borrowed keys to Zell's red car. Zell had called her earlier to tell her that her car was fixed. It had taken a week to get to it but Rinoa wasn't terribly upset about the delay. She was upset however, that she ran into Caraway as she tried to escape the mansion to pick it up. Caraway had dragged her to his study to lecture her again on her arranged marriage and how foolish she was being. Rinoa didn't pay any attention to what he said, merely thinking about having her car back. She was glad Zell had lent her a car to use while hers was being fixed, but the red car he had lent her was so much less comfortable than her silver coupe. Not to mention she still didn't know why it didn't have light sensitive headlights or rain sensitive windshield wipers. She had never learned how to turn on car lights or windshield wipers before.

Rinoa climbed into the red car, hopefully for the last time, and slammed the door shut. She tore off onto the street heading for Zell's auto shop growing more excited the closer she got.

* * *

"Dude! How long do I have to take the couch? It's hella hard!"

"Quit complaining Seifer, I still haven't gotten Lionheart back yet." Squall was in their small kitchen eating a bagel. "Today's your day off at the shop right?"

"Yea, I swear I'm stealing the bed while you work." Seifer rolled off the couch and approached Squall. "Move. I need to get something to drink."

Squall shrugged and exited the kitchen so Seifer could get to the refrigerator; their kitchen was only big enough for one person to stand in it at a time.

"Why are we living in sheer poverty Squall?" Seifer complained.

"Cause we didn't think to drag our life savings with us to our duel?" Squall asked back sarcastically.

"Huh, remind me to next time." Seifer grabbed the orange juice carton.

Squall decided to make his exit, he was already late for work and preferred to be ignorant as to whether Seifer would drink from the carton or pull out a cup.

* * *

"Welcome to my auto shop! What can I do for you today?" Zell greeted the girl who had just set off the bells attached to the front door.

"Um, hi. I'm Rinoa Caraway, you said my car was ready." Rinoa replied timidly, the excitement that had built up inside her while driving to the shop evaporated upon seeing the strange tattoo on Zell's face. 'Oh god! I don't remember it being this intimidating when I dropped the car off!'

"Alright, let me look it up." Zell turned to a computer as the bells attached to the door chimed again.

"Hey Zell, sorry I'm late."

Rinoa turned to look at the new comer. He looked familiar but Rinoa couldn't put a name to the back of his head as he strode by her.

"No problem Squall! Day's just begun anyway" Zell called out without even looking up. "Ah here it is!" Zell looked up at his customer to find her staring after Squall as he entered the employee only area. "Um, Ms. Caraway? I can show you to your car if you like."

Rinoa was snapped out of her daze and her attention snapped back to Zell, "Oh, sorry Mister… uh Zell. Um whose your employee?"

Zell looked confused. "Squall? He's the guy who brought your car over here last week."

Realization dawned on Rinoa. "Oh yeah! If you don't mind, I'd like to go thank him for his help that night."

"Go right ahead, have him show you your car and he'll explain what we fixed." Zell went back out to the garages to begin work on the other cars awaiting attention.

* * *

Squall removed his shirt as he unlocked his locker to retrieve his work uniform.

'13… 74…'

Halfway through entering his combination, a knock came from the employee door, which caused Squall to jerk in surprise and mess up his lock combination.

'Damnit!' Squall cursed in his mind. 'That's odd, why is Zell knocking?' Squall decided he didn't care and called out, "Come in," while he attempted his lock combination again.

* * *

Rinoa heard Squall shout to come in so she opened the door and stepped inside. Rinoa cautiously walked in searching for Squall among the lockers.

She spotted him next to a locker, half naked.

* * *

'13… 74… and…'

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"

Squall jerked back for a second time. 'What was that?' He turned around slowly to see a black bundle of hair crouching in the doorway. 'Zell doesn't have black hair' Squall made the realization. "Uh, hello? Are you lost?"

* * *

Rinoa glanced up to see Squall was still only partially dressed and screamed again, "EEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEE, PUT SOMETHING ON!"

Squall glanced down at himself. 'It's not even like I'm in boxers, I'm still in jeans.' Squall looked back up at the girl with her head hidden between her knees cringing in the entrance. "What do you mean?"

* * *

"A SHIRT!" the girl didn't chance glancing up.

"Oh." Squall turned back to the lock determined to undo it.

'13… 74…'

* * *

Rinoa, not hearing a response from Squall, decided to see if he finished.

She glanced up to confirm he hadn't. "EEEEEIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, HURRY UP!"

* * *

Again Squall jerked back due to the sudden piercing feminine scream. 'Screw this! Screw the work uniform!' Squall grabbed the shirt he had just removed a few minutes ago and put it on. He strode over to the girl. "Hey you, I have a shirt on. What are you doing here?"

The girl looked up again to confirm that he indeed was fully dressed.

* * *

Squall recognized her. "Hey, aren't you that girl with the screwdriver in her engine? Rinoa wasn't it?"

Rinoa nodded blushing deeply as she thought, 'Jeez. Am I going to forever be recognized by him as the moronic girl?'

"Oh. So what brings you here? Thought your night full of frightening men with gunblades would have kept you away from this place." Squall joked.

Rinoa laughed a little, "Oh, you're Squall right?" Squall nodded. "I wanted to thank you for your help that night. Without you, Quisty and I would have been stranded there all night waiting for someone to help us."

"Heh, no problem," Squall couldn't help but laugh as he recalled how scared the two girls had been. "I take it your car is done?"

"Yeah, Zell called. He told me to get you to show me it and tell me what you fixed." Rinoa chirped up, she found herself to be much more comfortable around Squall than Zell, despite having to look even further up to see Squall's face. Maybe it was the absence of that weird tattoo that Zell had on his face. Maybe it was just Squall's roguish looking brown hair, or the dashing scar in between his eyes, or maybe it wasn't the scar but merely those gorgeous blue eyes.

Rinoa stared up at those eyes. She watched a stray bang wave before the left one, then another, and another. 'He sure has a lot of stray bangs, I wonder if he has problems seeing.'

Rinoa felt a hand clasp her shoulder and shake her gently. "Rinoa?"

Rinoa was broken out of her daze. Those eyes were sure dangerous to get lost in. "What? Did you say something?"

Squall looked at her questioningly, "I asked you if you wanted to see your car."

"Oh yes, definitely!" Rinoa answered, bouncing up and down with excitement.

Squall merely shook his head in amazement. Her moods changed so quickly, from frightened, to lost, to excited. Or was it disgusted, to lost, to excited? Or did he dare to think, impressed, to lost, to excited? Squall decided it didn't matter as he led her out to her car.

* * *

"So here it is." Squall lifted up the hood. "We replaced the engine and recharged the battery…"

Rinoa stopped paying attention. She was lost in his eyes and her own thoughts. 'Blue… I love blue… Replaced the engine… what's an engine… recharged the battery… why didn't they just replace it? Batteries aren't that expensive… I have a pack of AA's in my desk drawer back at home.'

Squall noticed Rinoa was again staring at him, lost. "Um, Rinoa," Squall gave her another shake. "I get the feeling you aren't comprehending any of this."

Rinoa shook her head, agreeing she hadn't a clue.

Squall sighed, "Alright, I'll just show you the basic stuff." Squall pulled the oil stick from the engine. "The motor oil is full and brand new, shouldn't need to replace it for a while." Squall held it out for her to look at while he turned his attention to unscrew another gauge.

Rinoa leaned forward to get a better look. The stick didn't look terribly important. There was just some liquid on the end. Rinoa reached up and pulled Squall's arm lower so she could get a better look.

Squall hadn't expected her to actually show interest, let alone pull him down. Her actions caused him to stumble towards her. The oil stick smeared across his shirt before he could regain his footing.

Rinoa was frightened. "I'm so sorry!" Rinoa looked down at herself; luckily she hadn't gotten any of that stuff on her clothes.

Squall looked down at himself; a wet, oily smear ran across the front of his shirt. He let out a groan. "Damnit!"

Zell sprinted across the garage thinking something drastic happened. "What happened? Who died?"

Squall found himself being used by Rinoa as a screen between herself and Zell again like that first night. "Nothing Zell, I just got motor oil all over my shirt."

Zell looked at him. "Why aren't you wearing the work uniform?"

"Someone kept screaming in the employee changing room so I couldn't concentrate to get the lock off and get the shirt out." Squall tilted his head in Rinoa's direction as she peeked out from behind Squall.

"Uh, sorry about that! Look I'll pay for the cost to wash the mother… mortar… whatever it is, off." Rinoa apologized.

"Hah! Good luck getting that stuff out. I stopped trying years ago! Especially the smell, can never get that washed out! Boy does it stink too." Zell laughed as he began walking away.

"Don't worry about it Rinoa, I'm just going to throw it away." Squall sighed and walked off with Zell.

Rinoa felt horrible, she just ruined the guy's shirt! She was supposed to be showing her thanks to him, not making his life miserable! She would have died if something happened to her clothes.

Rinoa made up her mind. She quickly jumped into her car and started it up. She pulled out of the garage in pursuit of the walking Squall and Zell. Rinoa rolled down her window and shouted out to Squall as she pulled up beside him. "Hey! Get in! We'll get you a new shirt at the mall! I know a great place to get one!"

Squall stared at her. "Um, I'm working for the next…" Squall glanced down at his watch, "seven and a half hours."

Zell turned back and grinned. 'Not with her you say? I call bullshit! At least, not for long.' Zell called back to Squall, "Take the rest of the day off. We're almost caught up on the cars so we're in pretty good shape for the moment." Zell entered his shop and closed the door behind him.

Rinoa smiled, "You heard the boss! Get in the car! I'm kidnapping you until we buy you a new shirt at least!"

Squall cautiously got into the passenger's seat and made sure he fastened his seatbelt. He wasn't sure how good of drivers airheads were and didn't plan on taking any chances. He wished he had a helmet as well.

* * *

Rinoa and Squall arrived at the local mall safe enough. She only cutoff two other cars; one of them being a semi-truck, which would have surely won if there happened to be a collision.

Now, Rinoa was dragging Squall through the mall. Squall was debating if a shirt was worth coming to a mall with an obvious shopaholic. He only prayed she didn't drag him on one of those infamous female shopping sprees Seifer complained about.

"Squall! Try this one on!" Rinoa tossed a shirt in his direction.

Squall caught it and was about to head off to the dressing room when Rinoa threw another one at him.

"That one too! It's made of better stuff than the first one. More threads!"

Squall had no clue what made one shirt better than the other. The entire way to the dressing room he was trying to figure out how Rinoa figured that out by just looking at them.

* * *

Squall exited the dressing room with the first shirt on; it was mostly black. He planned on finding Rinoa to get her opinion before trying the other one.

Squall didn't have far to search; sitting on a bench just outside the dressing rooms was Rinoa, with about fifty more shirts to try on. Upon seeing Squall she bounced to her feet and brought the massive bundle of shirts to him.

"Ooh! That looks pretty good!" Rinoa chirped, "Here's another one, this one matches your eye's better."

Squall looked at it, it was also black. He blinked a couple times and even held it up to the one he was wearing. It looked like the same black to him. 'Do females have another set of cones to see a whole different color spectrum than males? Or maybe more rods so they can differentiate between black, very black, and insanely black?' Squall kept his mouth shut and just took the shirt from Rinoa.

Rinoa pulled up the next one on the stack. "This one is dark navy! It'll do good too!"

Squall held it up to the shirt he was wearing. It looked black to him.

Rinoa continued with another shirt, "This one is made with Trabian cotton, it's much different than our Galbadian cotton."

Squall took the shirt from her. She hadn't mentioned a color, but it was definitely black too. He rubbed the shirt to compare with any of the others. They felt exactly the same.

Rinoa continued, "This one…"

Squall realized he was in for a very long day.

* * *

Of the 50 shirts Rinoa picked out, she liked 20 of them, Squall didn't care; in his mind they were all exactly the same. 'Hell, they probably all came from the same factory off the same line, just with different words printed on the tags!'

The two finally exited the store after a couple hours of nonstop shirt switching for Squall. Rinoa had insisted on paying for all 20 despite only spoiling one of his. Squall finally gave in just wanting to never see another black shirt again.

"That was so fun!" Rinoa crooned.

'Right. Fun.' Squall thought sarcastically.

"Come on Squall! This way!" Rinoa took his hand and dragged him down the mall.

"Where are we going?" Squall asked confused. 'We're done aren't we?'

"There are another three stores this way!" Rinoa announced cheerfully. She never saw Squall's face turn to pure panic as he was dragged into another store and loaded up with another 50 near-black shirts. Apparently each one was different than one of the other 50 he had tried on at the previous store.

* * *

Six hours later, a very tired Squall sat on a bench in the mall as a very cheerful Rinoa bounced her way to him.

"Wow! I haven't had that much fun in a long time!" She bent over Squall to look down at his face, he had opted to lie down on the bench and knock off the bundle of shopping bags filled with shirts that had rested next to him. "Didn't you have tons of fun?"

"Yeah, whatever. Rinoa, do you wanna get food now? You never stopped to get lunch!" Squall's eyes were closed, he didn't want to glare at her, she had after all ended up buying him over a hundred shirts.

"Lunch?" Rinoa's eyes went wide, "Oh my Hyne! I forgot to feed you! I'm so sorry!" Rinoa grabbed Squall and began dragging him down the mall again. Squall had to remember to snatch the shopping bags, he couldn't imagine the pain that he would go through for forgetting them and Rinoa demanding to go through all the stores again.

* * *

Squall found himself seated across from Rinoa in a dimly lit restaurant. A woman played the piano and sang on stage to the diners. Squall noticed Rinoa seemed to be in a dreamlike state.

"I've always wanted to be the one up there, singing my songs. I've been told my mother used to do that. I was told she was the most successful one ever too."

"I'm sure you can follow in her footsteps if you try Rinoa." Squall felt he had to be encouraging, he owed her that much at least.

Rinoa looked up at Squall with adoration, 'he believes in me?' Rinoa's mood fell when she remembered why she hadn't tried yet. "My father thinks I'm being foolish. He keeps telling me how much better my mother was than me at everything, singing, dancing, playing the piano. He told me I would just embarrass myself if I tried."

Squall had to admit, she was pretty foolish. "Well, I might not know you as well as your father, but in general, smart people can achieve anything they put their mind to."

Rinoa's eyes brightened upon Squall's words. "Wow! That's so nice coming from you! I can't believe you think I'm smart after our first meeting!"

Squall remained silent and Rinoa realized he hadn't necessarily called her smart, just that smart people could achieve anything.

"Squall, please don't think I'm stupid. I admit I don't know the slightest thing about cars." Rinoa pleaded.

"Or hiding from rapists." Squall just had to add in.

"Uh yeah, or that." Rinoa agreed before registering what he said. "HEY! We were really scared!"

Squall looked away from Rinoa's outburst, "Whatever."

"Anyway," Rinoa continued, "I am good at other things."

'Yeah, like selling black shirts.' Squall thought with a smirk.

"What's so funny?" Rinoa asked.

"Oh nothing." Squall quickly hid his smirk.

"Really? Well, okay." Rinoa dropped the subject and instead opted to just gaze into his eyes.

'They're so calm, so perfect. I can only hope the guy I have to marry has eyes like Squall's.' The thought of her arranged marriage caused Rinoa's spirits to fall. 'I wonder if I'll even love him. It's not fair, why can Selphie and Irvine find their true loves but I can't? Hmm… True love… I wonder if Squall is mine.'

"Hey Squall, can I ask you something?"

Squall nodded.

"Why did you comfort me the other night?" Rinoa asked, fishing for a certain answer.

'I comforted her the other night?' Squall looked at her in confusion, obviously not remembering what she was referring to.

"You know, when Zell told me I did something really stupid to my car."

'Oh, that.' Squall shrugged, "I don't know, you looked like you'd had a rough night."

"Well, that's an understatement." Rinoa sighed, not the answer she had wanted. "But, you don't think it was because of anything else?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know, you didn't feel anything towards me? I mean, besides pity." Rinoa pried.

"I don't know, maybe."

Rinoa's head shot up; no it wasn't exactly what she had been prying for, but close enough. "Do you want to give it a chance?"

"What a chance?"

"Us."

Squall thought about it for only a moment before shrugging, "Sure."

"Great!" Rinoa was lost in his eyes again, 'Yes, let's give this a chance.'


	4. Fun

Uploaded: 2009.10.28

Disclaimer: Whatever and the ringtone is the chorus from Forever by Drake

Fun

* * *

"She's a lot of **fun**!"

"What are you talking about, Seifer?"

"You know damned well what I'm talking about… Getting it on." Seifer said with a smirk.

Squall rolled his eyes. He was hoping to rid the image that men thought between their legs. Seifer wasn't helping.

"Oh come on Squall! You'd so be getting some too if you went along with your dad's proposition. Sure you'd have no love, but at least you'd be getting some!" Seifer exclaimed.

"What makes you think whoever she is would be alright with 'getting it on'? What if she refuses to do it until she's married?" Squall struck back.

"Your dad said she's 'fun'. What in the world else can a girl do to be 'fun'?" Seifer laughed.

"Any girl Laguna chooses will never be 'fun'. The man's idea of 'fun' would be a boring game of Monopoly, or tag. I doubt he's ever done it." Squall blew off the notion.

Seifer stared at Squall. "Uh, Squall… How did Ellone come about?"

That one was easy, "She was adopted. She's not my blood sister."

"Oh," Seifer really never knew that, although, now that he thought about it, their personalities were like night and day. Of course, if he had to guess which one of them were adopted, he would have guessed Squall. "And, how did you come about?"

"In a lab?" Squall asked sarcastically. "Or maybe from a sperm donor. Hey! You don't think maybe there was a mix up? That would mean Laguna isn't my father!"

"Right, well we'll never know." Seifer knew Squall had been grasping at any sign that he wasn't Laguna's son.

"Whatever, so who's 'fun' anyways?" Squall was curious.

"Quistis." Seifer responded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Squall's mind reeled in comprehension. "So that's where you've been slinking off to all the time!"

"Yea, better than you. What the hell did you do anyway? Go on a black shirt shopping spree?" Seifer asked looking at the piled of black shirts covering the floor of the single bedroom.

Squall glanced over the makeshift rug of black shirts. Squall had tripped over the neatly folded stack he brought back from the mall with Rinoa several times over the last week. Suffice to say, it was no longer a neatly folded stack.

Squall looked back at Seifer and shrugged. "Who cares?"

Seifer glanced over the pile, "Squall, how in the world did you afford so many black shirts? Did you wire some money from Esthar?"

"Uh, I went to the mall with a friend, they owed me." Squall mumbled. "A lot." He added as Seifer just stared at him skeptically.

"Right…" Seifer said slowly. "Wait, you have a friend here? I thought you told me the other day you haven't met anyone besides Quistis, Rinoa, and Zell." Seifer thought a bit, "Wait, Quistis didn't buy you it. Zell's too poor to afford this many shirts. You went shopping with Rinoa?"

"Uh yea, she messed up my shirt when she picked up her car at Zell's and, well, you know how it is with girls and buying stuff."

Seifer sifted through the pile of black shirts. "Hmm, Rinoa's pretty hot. I'd bang her."

Squall's expression changed. "Um, no you won't."

Seifer glanced up at Squall's outburst. "What's it to you?"

"We're seeing each other, I think." Squall responded flatly.

Seifer got up and walked towards the door, "You better be sure about that or I'm going to bang her. I'm heading out."

"Where are you going?" Squall demanded.

"To have fun with Quisty, maybe I'll bang her." Seifer smirked as he opened the door. "Maybe you should do the same with Rinoa before I get to her too." With that Seifer left.

Squall just shook his head.

* * *

Rinoa was excited. Ever since she and Squall gave each other 'a chance' her life seemed to be turning up. She remembered spending hours on the phone with Selphie the other night dreamily talking about Squall. Rinoa practically interrogated her friend whether she felt similar feelings for Irvine. The world knew what Selphie and Irvine felt for each other was true love. Rinoa was just trying to see if her feelings for Squall could be classified as true love yet.

'_It may not mean nothing to yall  
But understand nothing was done for me'_

Rinoa whirled around. Her cell phone was ringing. If only she could find it. What if it was Squall?

'_So I dont plan on stopping at all  
I want this shit forever man, ever man, ever man'_

Rinoa checked her desk, tossing papers and books to the floor in her frantic search. Would Squall be mad if she failed to pick up?

'_Im shutting shit down at the mall  
And telling every girl she the one for me'_

Rinoa moved on to her nightstand. She was after all talking with Selphie the night before. Rinoa dove for the messy covers of her queen-sized bed. It had to be here. What if she never found it? How would she be able to talk to Squall? How could she survive?

'_And I aint even planning to call  
I want this shit forever man, ever man, ever man, ever man'_

Rinoa practically tore her bed apart searching for the phone. As she tossed her sheets to the floor she heard a metallic 'thunk' and looked down to see her cell phone partially covered by the sheet. She scooped it up before it could ring anymore, answering it immediately.

"Hel-(gasp)-lo?"

* * *

"Rinoa? Are you okay? You sound out of breath." Squall asked worried. She was breathing really hard.

"I'm (gasp) okay. Just (gasp) a rush (gasp) to find the (gasp) phone." Rinoa's voice was coming in short stuttering gasps. Squall wondered exactly how much she had panicked in order to find her phone.

* * *

Rinoa tried to gain control of her breath as she listened to Squall.

"I was just calling to see how you were doing. Apparently a little hectic over there?" Rinoa realized that although Squall's eyes were her favorite thing in the whole world, his seemingly always calm voice had to come a close second.

Rinoa took a deep breath before answering, finally gaining control of her heaving. Maybe too much control.

* * *

"Oh Squall! You care! I'm doing great! How are you doing? Miss me yet?"

Squall smirked but didn't answer either of Rinoa's questions. "Hey you want to spend the day over here? Seifer's going out with Quistis apparently."

* * *

Rinoa's eye's widened, not really in surprise of the news, more in surprise that Squall didn't know the news. "Yea! Isn't it great? We can go on double dates! They've been going out all week by the way. I'm surprised Seifer hadn't told you yet! Don't you two live together?"

"Whatever."

* * *

Squall wasn't terribly interested in Seifer's relationships, nor in double dating with him and Quistis. Squall was certain Seifer thought it was a bad idea too.

"Listen, Rinoa, you want to head over here?" Squall repeated his question, as Rinoa seemed to only pick up on the gossip of the previous one.

* * *

"Oh, yea! I'll be right there!" Rinoa exclaimed as she began to change into more appropriate attire than her chocobo pajamas.

"Wait! Rinoa!"

* * *

Squall thought she was about to hang up.

"What? Squall? I'm still here." Rinoa's voice came over surprisingly soothingly through the earpiece.

"Oh, bring something fun to do. We don't really have much here at the moment." It was true, the apartment had a lot of black shirts and that was about it.

* * *

"Okay!" Rinoa's mind raced with ideas of things to bring. "I'll think of something fun for us to do!"

"Alright I'll see you in a bit." Squall hung up.

Rinoa quickly finished dressing before looking herself over in the mirror. Ever since she started going out with Squall her father had noticed she actually gave a damn what she wore out. Today she had chosen a white-sleeveless silk blouse, jeans and high-heeled sandals. So what? She wanted to dress up a little bit for her boyfriend. It was the first time he had ever invited her over to his place.

Rinoa threw on some lip-gloss, blush, and perfume before rushing down the stairs, hoping to avoid her father. The last thing she needed was another lecture about her arranged marriage. Especially since he would comment about how he should send her fiancé a picture of her in her current attire.

Rinoa wasn't that fortunate however as Caraway was just walking by.

"Ah Rinoa! You're looking absolutely beautiful today!"

"What do YOU want?" Rinoa demanded, squinting her eyes in suspicion.

"What? I can't give my beautiful daughter a compliment?" Caraway asked innocently.

"No you can't." Rinoa stated stubbornly.

"Well fine, I'll just have you know that we're going to be meeting your future fiancé soon. Be sure to save some of your best clothes for the trip."

Rinoa wasn't going to make this easy. "Why am I marrying a lazy bum?"

"Excuse me?" Caraway asked in astonishment.

"He's too lazy to come here and meet me. Why do we have to go there? Where is there?" Rinoa had to admit; she knew absolutely nothing about her fiancé besides that he was definitely a 'he' and her father approved.

"Oh that's because your fiancé is a busy man, he practically runs the country for his father. He'll make the perfect son-in-law!" Caraway crowed.

"Right." Rinoa didn't bother talking back; she pushed past Caraway to get to her car. She didn't want to make Squall wait too long for her.

* * *

After hanging up with Rinoa, Squall had taken a seat on the couch gazing around the apartment. 'Dang, Rinoa's never been here before. Good thing she knows it's the only apartment building near Zell's.'

Squall's eyes fell upon the pile of black shirts. 'Oh shit! She's going to get mad if she sees that!' Squall quickly pushed the shirts into the bedroom then shut the door.

Squall sat back down for a moment before looking around again. Seifer didn't exactly keep the living room very clean. There were beer bottles and old pizza boxes lying around. Squall frowned. He couldn't keep Rinoa out here.

Squall went back to his room and started shoving the black shirts into the closet. Hanging stuff up could come later, for now he was satisfied with the idea of 'out of sight, out of mind.'

* * *

Rinoa found the apartment building easily enough. It was after all within walking distance of Zell's.

Rinoa buzzed Squall's apartment, number 22, at the callbox.

* * *

BUZZZZZZZZZZZT!

Squall jumped. He had just finished pushing all the black shirts into the closet and was making the bed to be more presentable.

"Damn, can't they make a quieter doorbell?" Squall spoke to no one in particular as he headed to the door where the speaker to talk to the person at the door was.

Squall jabbed the button. "Hello?"

* * *

"Squall! It's cold out here!" Rinoa complained. She shouldn't have gone sleeveless.

"Yea one sec."

BUZZZZZZZT!

Rinoa heard a buzzing sound and the front door clicked unlocked. She hurriedly pushed her way in carrying with her some items she had brought to keep the two of them occupied.

* * *

Squall waited a couple minutes before hearing the knock at the door. He peered through the peephole. Sure enough there stood Rinoa glancing down both ends of the hallway, curious as ever.

Squall's first thought was 'Sure is a good thing she isn't a cat, otherwise she'd be dead from curiosity,' before he remembered Rinoa was actually waiting for him to open the door.

Squall opened the door to let Rinoa in. She immediately walked in, dropped the two bags she was carrying, and jumped on Squall. Luckily she had been doing this all week and Squall was well prepared. He caught her without more than a step backwards.

"See? It works so much better when you catch me like that!" Rinoa laughed happily. Squall remembered that the first time she did that he ended up on the ground and she was sitting on his stomach laughing her ass off.

"Funny." Squall kicked the door closed as he carried Rinoa further into the apartment. "Now what would happen if I happened to drop you?"

Rinoa's laughter subsided as her face flashed a momentary fear. "You wouldn't dare! I'm in heels!"

Squall smirked evilly at her and she could feel his grip loosening.

"No! Squall! I'll break my ankle! Wait!"

It was too late, Rinoa fell but the back of her legs hit something causing her to fall backwards. Rinoa remembered thinking, 'Does this happen to true lovers? Do they kill each other? I guess there was always Romeo and Juliet.'

But Rinoa didn't die. She didn't break her ankle either. She didn't even sprain it. In fact, she didn't even get hurt in any way.

Rinoa landed on the couch with a laughing Squall towering over her.

"You really think I'd purposely drop you?"

Rinoa didn't really have much to say besides, "Meanie!" as she stuck her tongue out at her boyfriend.

Squall couldn't help but laugh at her childish antics. "Hey, you made fun of me first! I say we're even."

Rinoa didn't argue as Squall helped her off the couch and lead her to the bedroom.

"So what's planned for today?" Squall asked her.

"Well!" Rinoa exclaimed, "I thought we could play a board game!"

"A board game?" Squall gulped, 'Did she somehow hear me complaining to Seifer about board games earlier? Does she have the place wired?'

"Yea! A board game! They were so much fun when I was little! I remember my mother playing them with me because my father never would!"

"Oh, how long ago was that?" Squall just had to ask.

Rinoa thought about it for a bit while she pulled a board game out of one of her bags. "At least 13 years ago." Then in a softer tone, "My mom died 13 years ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry Rinoa." Squall quickly said, 'Well that's awkward.'

"Don't worry, it's been a while, I've recovered. I just wish it were the general instead of mom. She was always so kind, the general is always a meanie."

"The general?" Squall asked.

"Oh, well, guess it's too late to cover that one up." Rinoa laughed. "My father is a general, I don't like admitting he's my father though."

Squall laughed, "I know what you mean. We have a bit in common you know? My mother is also dead."

"Oh, that's so sad! I'm sorry Squall!" Rinoa looked at Squall with eyes reminiscent of Bambi.

'Bambi,' Squall thought, 'there's another kid forced to live with his father since his mother died when he was young.'

Squall snapped out of his thoughts, "Don't worry, I don't really know if I would have preferred living with her, she died giving birth to me."

Rinoa looked as if she wanted to cry.

"Hey, Rinoa, what board game did you bring?" Squall figured he might as well ask if he was going to play it. Anything to keep her from crying.

"Oh! It's Monopoly! My mom used to play with me all the time! I was so good at it! I always won!" Rinoa exclaimed getting excited. "I haven't played it since my mom died though so I might be rusty."

"Uh, right." Squall watched as Rinoa set up the board on his bed. 'Good thing I made the bed.'

"Okay! You can go first!" Rinoa bounced onto the bed, almost upsetting all the pieces.

Squall looked down at his side of the bed. "Uh Rinoa, don't I need some money?"

Rinoa looked up at him confused. "Of course not! My mom told me I get all the money."

Squall nodded slowly. 'And you never thought to question why you always won?' Squall took a breath and picked up the dice. "Okay… How about I just roll and we'll see how this goes…"

Rinoa nodded eagerly as she watched Squall's dice.

7.

Squall took his piece and moved to the first 'Chance' space.

'Take a ride on the Reading Railroad'

"Ooh!" Rinoa exclaimed excitedly as Squall showed her the card.

Squall took his piece and moved it back two spaces to Reading Railroad.

"Hey! You went the wrong way!" Rinoa exclaimed.

Squall looked at her blankly.

Rinoa gasped exasperated. "Fine, I'll move you!" She grabbed Squall's piece and dragged it around the board ending up on… Reading Railroad.

Squall looked at the board. It looked exactly as he had left it. "Uh, okay." He chose not to fight it. Let her have her way with the stupid board game.

"Ooh! You passed GO! You get $200!" Rinoa took $200 from what Squall thought was her money and handed it to him.

"Uh, thanks." Squall was thoroughly confused to the rules of this particular Monopoly game but decided he'd just take whatever Rinoa gave.

"So, you gonna buy it?" Rinoa was bouncing up and down on the bed again and Squall's piece ended up falling off the board.

Squall looked down at his two bills. "Uh, sure." He handed them back to Rinoa.

Rinoa smiled widely as she place the bills back in her stash as she handed him the Reading Railroad property card.

Rinoa took her turn to roll.

Boxcar.

"Ooh! 'Lectric Company! I'll buy it!"

Squall watched Rinoa take $150 from her stash, hand it to herself, then put it back in her stash. She then took the Electric Company property card. 'At least this game won't last very long.' Squall thought.

* * *

Squall was surprised at how long he lasted considering the rules. Despite the obvious one-sided game, Squall didn't mind. Rinoa was having a ball. She was excited on every roll, every purchase, and every chance card. It definitely made up for Squall being utterly bored on every roll, every purchase, and every chance card. The only reason Squall didn't fall asleep was because he was watching Rinoa jump for joy every time the dice stopped rolling. Sometimes they had to find them, as Rinoa didn't seem to always roll on the board.

"Want to get some food now?" Squall asked, hoping Rinoa didn't have another round of Monopoly in mind.

"Oh yes!" Rinoa jumped up and ran to her bags in the living room, "I brought stuff for us to make it here!"

Squall watched Rinoa return with a bunch of random items. "You know how to cook those?"

Rinoa looked at what was in her hands, "Nope! Do you?"

Squall looked at what was in her hands, he didn't even know what they were. "Nope."

Rinoa looked momentarily worried before a smile swept over her face again. "Oh well! Let's try!" With that she bounced out of the room towards the miniature kitchen.

Squall grabbed a fire extinguisher, 'Just in case.'

* * *

Squall wasn't sure exactly what he ate. It was edible though so he wasn't going to complain. After the effort the two went through to prepare it, the mere fact that there was any left to eat was a feat in itself.

Rinoa had started opening every bag and laying them out on the limited counter space in the kitchen when Squall arrived. She then went to retrieve more bags of food and Squall took her place in the cramped kitchen. He was bending over to pull out a pot and pan just in case when he felt Rinoa behind him trying to squeeze into the kitchen. Suffice it to say, Squall was surprised and jumped, knocking over some of the bags, which landed on his head.

Rinoa burst out laughing at the sight of Squall on the floor with some red gunk dripping down his face. Squall had taken the opportunity to scrape it off his face and toss it on Rinoa's, which resulted in a food fight.

To say the two threw food at each other would be a lie. They were both standing in the kitchen, there was no room to move let alone throw anything. Their food fight consisted more of taking food and just smashing it into each other's face, hair, clothes, or whatever else they felt like.

Eventually the two calmed down enough to salvage what remained of their first attempt to prepare a meal together.

* * *

"Rinoa, you can take the shower now!" Squall called out.

Both teens had tons of fun in their food fight, but both were filthy while they ate their meal still laughing about it. As the laughter died they both were dying to get cleaned up.

"Thanks Squall!" Rinoa bounced past him into the bathroom.

Squall headed to his bedroom to grab a spare towel and change of clothes for Rinoa to wear. 'I hope Rinoa really liked these black shirts, cause that's the only shirt I have for her to wear.' Squall grabbed a pair of gym shorts and a belt for Rinoa and knocked on the bathroom door.

"Hey! I have a towel and some spare clothes here for you! I'll just leave them by the door!" Squall shouted through the door hoping to be heard over the shower. He didn't wait for an answer as he headed back into the living room to wait.

* * *

Squall's wait was interrupted by giggling and the sound of the apartment door unlocking.

"Seifer! Wait until we're inside!" Quistis giggled.

"Well babe! What can I say? You…" Seifer caught sight of Squall.

"What do I do to you?" Quistis prodded, she hadn't noticed Squall sitting on the couch yet, her back was to him.

"You should turn around." Seifer simply said.

Quistis turned around to see Squall watching them. "Oh, hi Squall! Is Rinny here?"

"Uh yea, why are you guys back?" Squall asked in confusion. 'Wasn't Seifer supposed to stay over at Quistis'?'

"Quisty's parents came home early so we decided to split." Seifer replied. "What have you been up to? Bang anybody yet?"

Quistis' eyes went wide. "Seifer! Rinoa isn't like that! She's a perfect angel!"

Seifer just grinned even wider, "Sorry Squall, no luck for you!" Seifer laughed, "So if you didn't bang her, what did you do all day?"

"Um, we played Monopoly…"

"Monopoly! I distinctly remember our conversation before I left mentioning that game! Happen to play tag too?" Seifer goaded.

"Food tag maybe." Squall smirked as Seifer's jaw dropped.

"I don't get it." Quistis said looking between the two boys.

"Don't worry babe." Seifer managed to say.

"Wow! Quisty! You're here too!" A blur of black tackled Quistis to the couch Seifer and Squall were sitting on. The two girls fell into the guys' laps.

"Rinny! Where were you?" Quistis asked before thinking. She looked down at the wet spot on her shirt. "Oh, you were showering."

Rinoa got off Quistis and nodded.

Seifer whistled. "Rin, you look good in Squall's clothes. You look just as colorblind as he does now!" Rinoa was in pure black. Black shirt, black gym shorts kept up by a black belt. Her black hair technically gave her more black than Squall.

Rinoa didn't seem to be offended and just smiled as she took a seat in Squall's lap once Quistis managed to struggle up to a sitting position in Seifer's. "So what are we all going to do?" Rinoa asked smiling brightly.

'Please no Monopoly, please no Monopoly.' Squall pleaded in his mind but kept his mouth shut.

Seifer smirked knowing exactly what Squall was thinking. "Monopoly."

Rinoa's eyes brightened with excitement. "Okay! I'll go get it!"

"Wait!" Seifer called out. "Leave the money behind."

Rinoa looked at him oddly, "How do you play without money?"

Squall smirked as he realized what Seifer was getting at. 'Would Rinoa go for it?'

Quistis seemed just as clueless as Rinoa. "How do you play without money Seifer?"

Seifer smirked. "It sounds like stir… with an ip at the end."

Quistis put the two together, "Stirip? What's that?"

Seifer groaned. "It _sounds_ like stir, not _is_ stir."

"Oh." Quistis said as she tried again. Rinoa beat her to it.

"Strip?"

"Bingo!" Seifer exclaimed.

Rinoa didn't really understand how this was going to work but decided to collect the board from Squall's room anyways.

Squall merely watched the confrontation silently. 'This is going to be fun.'


	5. Kind and Caring

Uploaded: 2009.10.30

Disclaimer: Whatever

Kind and Caring

* * *

"He's well-known for being **kind and caring**!"

"Selphie! You can't possibly believe that! Caraway doesn't know what those words even mean!"

* * *

"But Rinny! He's your father!" Selphie whined through the phone.

"No he's not Selphie. He's just the monster who kidnapped my mother." Rinoa refused to admit having any relation to THAT man. "Squall is much better than anything Caraway would find for me."

* * *

"But Rinny! What if he finds out?" Selphie asked worriedly. She didn't want to see her friend hurt. It would be horrible if Squall found out. The two seemed to have true love as far as her phone conversations told her. What if Squall hated her friend for deceiving him?

"Who? Who finds out? Who finds out what?" Rinoa's confused voice came through the phone.

* * *

"Both! What if Squall finds out that you're engaged? And what if your father finds out that you're seeing someone?"

Rinoa slapped her forehead. How could she have not thought of that predicament? 'What was I thinking? Find my true love only so I would have to break up with him whenever Caraway forces me to marry that other jerk?'

"I don't know Selphie. I just don't know." Rinoa mumbled, her head was starting to hurt and she really needed to get ready to go. "Listen, Selphie, I'll meet you and Irvine at the station."

* * *

"Okay!" Selphie squealed, the previous serious conversation already forgotten. "I have some souvenirs for you! You're going to love them! I got this cute blowfish for you!"

Rinoa stared at her phone. 'Did she just say blowfish? Why would I want a blowfish?' Rinoa placed the phone back to her ear. "Uh, thanks Selphie, listen, I have another call, I'll see you in a bit."

Rinoa quickly hung up before Selphie could tell her about the swordfish-shaped paperweight she bought her too. Rinoa quickly accepted her other call.

* * *

"Hello?"

"Hey Rin."

* * *

Rinoa's eyes widened, partly in surprise, partly because she was elated.

"Squall!"

* * *

Squall held the phone away from his ear. 'Boy, she sounds happy.'

"Uh, yea, anyway Rinoa, I was wondering if you wanted to come over again."

* * *

Rinoa's smile couldn't get any bigger.

"Sure! I'll be right there!"

"Great. Bye." Squall hung up.

Rinoa immediately decided to change her outfit. Irvine and Selphie were used to seeing her in 'normal' clothes. But for Squall she was determined to wear 'extraordinary' clothes. She sifted through her closet pulling out article after article of clothing. By the time she was done there were several different outfits put together scattered all around her room.

Rinoa took a step back to examine all of them. 'Hmm… That one is too bright, I'd look like Selphie… That one is a little too plain, I'd look like Quistis… This one though… is perfect!' Rinoa fingered one consisting of a black skirt, light blue camisole, and black high-heeled sandals. She quickly changed into the outfit and threw on some makeup before heading to her car.

* * *

Rinoa headed down towards Squall's apartment with her excitement building. The last time she was there was so fun. Even Seifer's strange game of monopoly was fun. Rinoa wasn't really sure why they kept handing her their clothes but they eventually forfeited to her.

As Rinoa passed the train station a thought popped into her head. 'Wasn't I supposed to pick up Selphie and Irvine from their vacation?' Rinoa's eyes popped in shock. 'Oh crap!' Rinoa threw her car into a u-turn and turned into the train parking lot.

She looked around. She was glad this time it was broad daylight.

Rinoa waited in her car for a few minutes before she spotted Selphie and Irvine walking out of the entrance. She drove to the curb to pick them up.

"Hey Rinny!" Selphie had yanked open the passenger side door and dove in to hug Rinoa.

Rinoa was caught off guard, as she was smashed into the driver's side door. "Hi Selphie." She looked over at Irvine as he struggled to carry the two's luggage to Rinoa's car.

By the time Irvine loaded all the bags into the trunk Selphie had already shown Rinoa several of the souvenirs meant for her. An ornament shaped like a blowfish, a swordfish paperweight, and a necklace made of seashells. Rinoa stared at the random gifts for a moment before placing them all in the glove compartment, likely to never be seen again. "Uh thanks Selphie."

"No problem! I knew you'd love them!" Selphie bounced up and down in her seat causing the entire car to bounce along with her.

Irvine made to enter the backseat when Rinoa had an idea.

"Wait! Irvine, why don't you take my car and unload your stuff. I'm going to visit someone around here."

Irvine looked at Rinoa with a confused expression; of course he had no clue about Squall. Selphie did though.

"Ooh! You're going to see Squall aren't you? I knew you wouldn't have dressed up so much just for me." Selphie put on a hurt expression.

"Oh, Selphie! You know I'd dress up for you too!" Rinoa wasn't really sure if that were a true statement or not but it might work.

"Oh you don't have to Rinny! Go get him! We'll pick you up whenever you call." The bubbly girl turned to her boyfriend. "Irvy! Drive! Now!"

Rinoa just shook her head as she headed down the street. 'Whipped!'

* * *

Squall sat on the couch. It hadn't been very long since Rinoa was over last time. He still didn't really have anything for them to do but he wanted to see her anyways.

Seifer had left for his day at Zell's. The large line of cars was completely cleared out now and Zell only needed one of them there a day.

'Why is it taking Rinoa so long to get here? Last time she got here in half this time.' Squall paced back and forth in front of his callbox.

That was when he heard it. A scream. Coming from the alley to the side of his apartment building.

Squall froze for a second. It had been a girl's scream. A young girl's scream. Rinoa's scream. Squall burst through his door and flew down the stairs. This was a bad neighborhood. 'Why didn't Rinoa use her car?'

* * *

Rinoa couldn't believe this. She had walked this street before. Late at night even! Of course, she did have Squall and Seifer with her pushing her car, but who would have thought that she'd get chased into an alley by a few street thugs in broad daylight, even if this was the bad part of town?

She was roughly pushed up against the wall. One of the thugs had his hand over her mouth. It had been there ever since she let out her initial scream. Another thug produced a knife as he advanced towards her. Rinoa's mind was travelling a mile a minute. 'Oh my Hyne! Oh my Hyne! Oh my Hyne! Please save me! Anybody!'

The thugs seemed to feed off of Rinoa's fears as they all smirked at, eerily, the same time.

"Don't be scared little girl. We won't hurt you… too badly… who knows? You might even like it."

Rinoa struggled. It didn't do any good though. It was three grown men who grew up among thieves and gangs against a single young girl with a history of Barbie dolls and shopping sprees. 'Oh my Hyne! They're going to rape me!'

The thug with the knife pressed the blade to Rinoa's neck. Rinoa instantly stopped moving, praying he wouldn't kill her.

"That's better. Be a good girl. Maybe we'll let you live a little longer."

Rinoa tried not to breath, afraid the blade would cut her. 'Oh my Hyne! They're going to kill me!' Rinoa shut her eyes, hoping that it would make her death less painful.

Instead of the pain of a knife eating into her skin or the sound of her clothes being torn off, Rinoa heard a curious sound.

"Ugh!"

"What the?"

"Fuck! Get him!"

Rinoa chanced to take a breath. There wasn't a knife there anymore. She risked opening her eyes to see one of the thugs out cold to her right. The other two were circling around a new comer. He had brown hair and blue eyes. Rinoa's savior. Squall.

"Squall!" Rinoa ran towards him only to gain the attention of the two still conscious thugs. Rinoa noticed one held a knife and the other a pipe. When the two turned towards her she immediately stopped and started to back up, back towards the wall again.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Squall lunged at the one with a pipe, wrenching it from his hands. In another brief instant he had slammed it into the thug's head, knocking him out cold along with the first.

The final thug with the knife turned back towards a now armed Squall. He glanced down at his two friends and charged at Squall.

Squall tried to dodge out of the way as the thug charged past him but the knife tore into his right arm. He whirled around to confront the still dangerous man only to find he had fled the scene.

Squall turned back to see Rinoa running towards him, as fast as her heels allowed her.

She wouldn't make it to him before he collapsed in pain. The cut wasn't the only injury he had sustained. Despite knocking out one using his element of surprise, the other two had immediately jumped at him. Squall had been unarmed, the thugs, armed. He suffered bruises and many minor cuts.

Rinoa frantically pulled out her phone to get help.

* * *

Rinoa woke up in a hospital bed. She had succeeded in getting Squall an ambulance but upon arriving at the hospital she fainted too and apparently was placed in another bed.

Rinoa checked herself over, She wasn't that badly injured. Some scrapes and bruises, and a bone-splitting headache. But otherwise, she was relatively unharmed. Rinoa noticed the hospital staff hadn't even bothered to change her into the standard hospital gowns. Actually they hadn't even bothered to tuck her into the hospital bed.

Rinoa sat up. She felt fine but before she could swing her legs over the side the door opened and a doctor entered.

"Ah, I see you're up. How are you feeling?"

"Um, I'm good, where's Squall?"

The doctor smiled at her, "Not so fast, we have to make sure you're okay before you can go see your friend. Tell me your name."

"Rinoa Caraway."

"Alright, that's about all I have to check, you hit your head when you fainted earlier."

Rinoa nodded, 'That would explain this headache.'

"Just out of curiosity, what were you doing in that part of town? You don't really look like you belong there."

Rinoa frowned and looked down at herself, 'Do I really stick out that much?' Rinoa looked up at the doctor, "I was going to visit my boyfriend when three guys cornered me and were talking about raping me. Luckily Squall found me before they did much to me. How is he?"

The doctor nodded at Rinoa's story. "He should be fine, he suffered more severe injuries than yourself but I guess that's to be expected, he fought off three thugs according to your story. He'll have to stay in the hospital for a while. He hasn't awoken yet. Let me check with his doctor to see if you can visit him."

The doctor stood up to leave and Rinoa hopped off the bed to follow him. He turned back with a light laugh, "Well I guess you could come. You're free to go if you want too."

Rinoa remained silent as she followed the doctor down a few rooms. Her doctor talked with another doctor before returning to her. "You can go see your friend but don't disturb him, sleep is probably the best medicine for him at the moment. We've stopped the bleeding and patched him up. Don't move him around too much though, would hate for the stitches to come undone."

With that the doctor walked away and Rinoa entered Squall's hospital room. She noticed unlike herself, Squall had been changed into a hospital gown. He had also been tucked into the hospital bed. 'I guess they really do plan on keeping him here for a while.'

Rinoa pulled up a chair, determined to sit by his side until he woke up. The boy had risked his own life for hers. It was the least she could do to be there when he woke up. Rinoa wrapped her arms around his upper body in a loose hug, one he wouldn't remember, but Rinoa felt it meant something nonetheless. She lowered her head as she cried; this was all her fault. She prayed Squall would wake up.

* * *

It was a couple hours later when Rinoa noticed movement. She had been staring so intently at his still eyelids that the sudden flicker startled her. She nearly fell out of her chair.

Rinoa quickly gained control of her racing heartbeat to watch as Squall's eyelids slowly lifted away to reveal his glorious blue eyes. She was slightly disappointed when they snapped shut much quicker than they had opened.

"Squall?" Rinoa timidly asked.

"Rinoa?" Squall asked back.

Rinoa jumped out of her chair. 'He's alive!' She quickly leaned over Squall to give him a hug, this one he would remember.

"Ugh, Rinoa! Too tight!"

Rinoa looked down embarrassed and quickly loosened the hug. 'Squall mustn't be feeling very well, I've never been able to hurt him before. Even when I jump on him.'

"How are you feeling Squall?"

"Drugged, very drugged." Squall replied sarcastically.

"Oh, um, thank you." Rinoa whispered with her head down.

Squall opened his eyes to look at her but had to squint, he still wasn't used to the amount of light in the hospital room. 'She looks like she's being reprimanded or something.' He thought to himself before responding, "What for?"

"For saving me… Oh my Hyne! Squall! They were going to rape me! They were going to… kill… me!" Rinoa buried her head in Squall's chest, this time making sure not to injure her boyfriend further.

Squall was much too tired to actually comfort her; instead he merely hugged her back. 'Hopefully that will be enough.' Rinoa turned to his still sobbing girlfriend.

"Rinoa, you should go home, you've had a rough day. There's no point for you to stay here."

Rinoa looked up. She couldn't believe what he just said. "Of course there's a point to stay here! I'm not leaving this chair until you can leave that bed!" Rinoa plopped herself down in her seat. She couldn't hug Squall anymore as she was too low but she could still rest her head on his chest as she tried to gain control of her crying.

Squall looked down at the back of Rinoa's head. "Won't your father worry?"

Rinoa had to stifle a laugh, 'It's amazing how little we actually know about each other yet we feel so close. Well, I feel close to him. I hope he feels the same about me.' Rinoa turned her head so she was looking into Squall's steady blue gaze. "My father probably wouldn't even notice I wasn't home."

Squall cringed. 'I bet Laguna knows I'm gone. I bet he has all of Esthar combing the streets in search of me by now. I can't believe any parent wouldn't love someone as hopelessly innocent as Rinoa.'

"Squall?" Rinoa was still staring into his eyes. "We don't really know much about each other do we?"

Squall thought about it for a moment, 'Well, she's from Deling, She's Galbadian, but that I guess is a given since she's from Deling. She had a loving mother who always let her win at Monopoly. She can't cook worth shit, much like myself. Hmm, that's about it.' Squall looked down at Rinoa, "Yea, I guess we don't know much about each other."

Rinoa smiled back at Squall, "Well, since we're going to be here, let's get to know each other better!"

Squall merely nodded. Rinoa realized he wasn't going to ask the first question so she took it upon herself to.

"Okay… Um, you know about my parents, my father is a meanie and my mother died when I was real young, what about yours?"

Squall thought for a moment before responding, he didn't have to give names. "My father is very childish, I'm surprised he's even potty trained. My mother died giving birth to me." Squall ended bluntly.

Rinoa covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh I'm so sorry Squall! I didn't mean to bring back bad memories!"

"It's okay. That was a long time ago." Squall replied casually. Rinoa realized he really meant it. "Rinoa, what's it like to have a mother?"

Rinoa had to think for a moment, it had been so long since she lost her mother. "It was… the best time of my life." Rinoa finished simply.

Squall nodded, 'It must be harder for her. It must be harder to know your mother, love her dearly, then lose her than it is to lose her before you ever knew her.' Squall placed his hand on her head, hoping it would provide some comfort.

Rinoa looked back up at Squall from this action, smiling at his show of support. "Squall, you know, I don't even know your last name."

Squall looked away from Rinoa, 'Oh shit! I can't tell her I'm a Loire. That would only make it too easy for Laguna to find me. Not to mention it would be fairly easy for Rinoa to connect me to the Estharian Presidency, I think it's public knowledge that the president's son is engaged. What name could I use? What was Raine's maiden name? Leonhart I think…' Squall looked back at Rinoa, she seemed to have a curious expression on her face. Probably wondering why Squall had glanced away. "Uh, it's Leonhart. Squall Leonhart." Squall turned away again hoping she couldn't tell he was lying. 'Please buy it! Please?'

Luckily Rinoa did. "Oh, that's kind of catchy! Squall Leonhart." At least that's what she said out loud, what she said in her mind was 'Rinoa Leonhart'.

"How about yours?" Squall had turned back to look at Rinoa as soon as he heard her accept his lie.

Rinoa looked at Squall stunned, 'He doesn't know who I was? I thought everyone knew I was Caraway's daughter.' Rinoa stumbled through her thoughts for a few more moments before finding her voice, "Um, Caraway, I'm General Caraway's daughter."

"Oh. That's nice." Squall replied, 'Who the hell is General Caraway? Was I supposed to know that she was his daughter? Was she telling the truth? Maybe she's lying like me.' Squall's thoughts were giving him a headache. "Uh Rinoa, I think I need to try to sleep some more, my head is hurting a bit."

"Oh, okay. Do you mind if I stay?" Rinoa asked timidly, she didn't really know what she would do if he refused.

"I don't mind, but don't feel like you have to."

Rinoa nodded in understanding and made herself comfortable as Squall closed his eyes to drift back to sleep.

* * *

Sometime during the evening Rinoa was awakened by the chatter in the room.

"Ooh! Don't they look cute?" Rinoa swore she had heard that voice earlier in the day.

"What? Puberty Boy? He looks like a dead fish." The voice was also somewhat familiar; it was coarse, arrogant even. "Ow! What the hell was that for?"

Rinoa decided to stop guessing and lift her head up to look at the intruders. She found Irvine in one corner with his arms wrapped around Selphie as she bounced around within his grasps. A tall blonde with green eyes stood in the doorway, Seifer. And Quistis was between the two groups leaning against the wall. Apparently she had just returned to her place as Seifer was rubbing his slightly red cheek.

"Uh, hi guys." Rinoa voiced.

Four heads turned to the small girl.

"Rinny! Are you okay? What happened? Whose he?" Selphie's questions blurred together as she rattled them off like a machine gun. The bouncy girl raced up to Rinoa and threw her arms around her. Rinoa had to steady herself enough to make sure they didn't fall onto Squall's still sleeping form.

"I'm okay Selphie. Squall saved me."

Selphie stared at Rinoa, "Is that Squall?" Selphie pointed at the figure Rinoa was lying on. "What happened to him? Wait, what happened to you?"

"That's Squall." Rinoa confirmed. She then went on to retell her ordeal and how her knight saved her.

* * *

It took a while to retell the story, Rinoa broke down in sobs every once in a while; especially when she spoke of the thugs ganging up on Squall.

"Oh my Hyne!" Selphie exclaimed. "You've had a horrible day Rinny! Let's get you home!" The girl grabbed Rinoa's hand and started pulling her up.

"Wait! Selphie! I'm staying here until Squall is released."

"Why? It's not like he's going to move anywhere. He's as useless as a dead rat." Seifer spoke up.

Rinoa glared at Seifer but Selphie was the one to talk first.

"Who the hell are you?"

Seifer stared at her, "You don't know who I am? I am Seifer Almsay! I'm the sorceress's knight! I'm the greatest gunblader in the world! Puberty Boy over here is my practice dummy."

Rinoa honestly didn't know if that was true, she knew both of the guys had gunblades but she had never seen them use the weapons, but she had a hard time believing Seifer was better than her boyfriend, nobody was better than her boyfriend. Selphie obviously didn't believe him either.

"Right… I think someone is making up for their lacking somewhere else…" Selphie laughed. Seifer's face went red and Selphie laughed even harder.

"Right, anyway, Rinoa if you're staying here I'll go get you some things to make the night more comfortable." Quistis turned to Seifer, waiting for him to move out of the doorway so she could gather some night supplies.

"What? Quisty? You're just going to let her say that?" Seifer looked at Quistis in shock.

"Yes, you deserved it. Now move." Quistis pushed past Seifer who merely watched her leave. Seifer went after her.

Irvine was still leaning in the corner; he hadn't said a word. Rinoa turned her attention to Selphie.

"Why's he so quiet?" Rinoa indicated the cowboy.

Selphie glanced up at Irvine. "Oh, we had a slight confrontation when we entered the room. That Seifer guy was here already and Irvine thought he was going to do something to you. Luckily Quisty came and put a stop to that. Otherwise we might have had two more people in hospital beds."

Rinoa nodded, 'I sure missed a lot while I was sleeping.'

Quistis reentered the hospital room; she wasn't carrying anything. Seifer followed her carrying a pillow, some blankets, and a take-out bag.

Quistis took the sleeping supplies from Seifer and handed them to Rinoa who placed them between her back and the chair. "We brought you some food too. Well actually, we brought some food for everyone." Quistis glanced at both Selphie and Irvine.

Seifer grumbled as he placed the take-out bag on the edge of Squall's bed so everyone could dig in.

Rinoa swore she heard a 'whip-pish!' sound come out of Selphie. Apparently Seifer heard it too as he turned bright red.

* * *

After a quick meal, Rinoa's friends left her and Squall alone. Rinoa decided to sit on the pillow, Squall's chest was better than any pillow could ever be and the slight booster helped her wrap her arms around Squall while sitting.

Squall had slept through their friend's noisy visit. Rinoa wasn't sure if that was a good or bad sign.

Rinoa laid her head on Squall and she slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

It was a week later before Squall was released. Rinoa was just as glad as Squall to hear the news. Although Squall's chest was so comfortable, the chair was anything but comfortable.

Rinoa waited patiently in the lobby as Squall was given last minute instructions from the nurses.

* * *

"Avoid any heavy lifting, if you feel any pain take one of these every four hours." Squall was handed a medicine bottle.

"And here's the bill. You can mail the payment to the address at the bottom." Squall was handed a sheet of paper with a rather large number on it.

'Great, there's no way I'll pay that off by just working at Zell's… Especially if I'm not supposed to work at Zell's for a while…'

Rinoa walked up to Squall as the nurse left. "You ready to go? Selphie left my car here for us."

"Sure." Squall followed Rinoa out.

* * *

Rinoa waited at the door for Squall to catch up. She then took his hand in hers, grabbing his attention, and smiled up at him.

"Thank you for saving me, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you."

Squall smiled down at Rinoa, "Thank you too, for staying with me that is. I would have gone crazy if it was only Seifer in there."

Rinoa's smile widened. 'Squall is much better than any man Caraway could hope to find. He protects me. He's kind and caring.'


	6. Comfortable Life

Uploaded: 2009.11.01; 2009.11.02 (There was some confusion about Squall's employment status, he's employed but unable to work due to his injury from last chapter. His thoughts reflect this better now.); 2009.11.07 (fixed a typo)

Disclaimer: Whatever

Comfortable Life

* * *

"All I ever wanted is for you to have a **comfortable life**!"

"I don't give a damn what you want, wanted, or will want in the future! Just forward my damn money to the bank number I gave you!"

"But Squall! Can't you see this is the best thing to happen for you? This girl has proven that she is both fun and kind and caring! She's scheduled to come visit the palace soon. I told her father that you'd be here to greet them!"

"Fat chance that's going to happen." The angry brunette replied through the phone.

"Squall! How do you expect to find someone to marry? You don't even try to meet girls!"

"Well, _father_, I'll have you know that I AM going out with someone right now." Squall knew that would get a rise from his father.

"What? Really? Will I be able to meet her? Is she fun? Kind and caring?" Laguna was begging for more information. "Come on Squall! You can't leave me like this!"

"Transfer my money and I'll think about telling you more." Squall smirked, 'That should do him in.'

"Wait I can't do that! Squall you have to get back here. Your fiancé is supposed to visit you tomorrow!" Laguna pleaded, "How about, if you meet her, don't like her, then I'll see about getting this whole thing called off?"

'Damn.' Thought Squall, "How about no?" Squall hung up. 'Damn. Didn't get my money either.' Squall glanced at the clock, he didn't have anything better to do so he picked up the phone again.

* * *

"Hello?"

"Hey Rin! You coming over today?"

* * *

"Squall!"

Squall smiled, she never seemed to lack the enthusiasm when she saw or heard him. And Squall loved it. It was plain to him that he was pretty much the air she breathed.

"So how about it?"

* * *

"Sure!" Rinoa exclaimed without thinking. She then looked at her suitcase half filled with clothes. "Er, wait! Squall, I'm sorry but I forgot I'm leaving for a trip with my father today."

"Oh." Rinoa's heart was breaking after the sound of Squall's depressed voice on the other end.

* * *

"But, I'll be back soon! I'll stop by your place as soon as I'm back!"

"Okay, I guess you can tell me all about it when you get back." Squall replied absentmindedly.

* * *

"Uh, er, yea…" Rinoa mumbled, 'There's no way in hell I can tell him about the trip. What would I say? Oh I just went to meet my fiancé! I even stayed in his house! Hyne! I better not be forced to stay in his room.'

"Well," Squall paused on the other end, "I guess I'll talk to you when you get back, I'm sure you have a lot of packing to do. Have fun."

* * *

"Uh, yea, I'm sure I will. Thanks Squall, I love you."

"Love you too." Squall replied dejectedly. 'Now what am I supposed to do?'

* * *

Rinoa hung up the phone and glared at her suitcase. 'This stupid trip will keep me from my true love! Why couldn't I just not go? Why do I have to go to meet my future husband? It's not like meeting him will change what I think about him! He's a bastard! He's forcing me to marry someone I don't even know!'

"Rinoa! Are you ready yet? The train will leave without us!"

Rinoa cringed at the sound of Caraway's voice. 'I'd rather it left without us.' She thought bitterly. With another sigh Rinoa slammed her suitcase shut, it was mostly empty, she hadn't really tried to actually pack. 'Maybe my future husband will think I'm too poor or too stupid to know how to pack right and call off the marriage.'

Rinoa trudged down the stairs to find her father waiting impatiently. She was kind of glad her suitcase was half empty, it made it insanely light to carry.

Without a word, Caraway opened the front door and the two were helped into the awaiting limo.

'Boy this is going to be an awkward trip.' Rinoa fidgeted in her seat. It was just Caraway and herself in the passenger side of the limo. 'I hope he doesn't try to start a conversation. I don't think my head can withstand another argument.'

No such luck for Rinoa.

"So Rinoa, I know you've been against this whole arranged marriage deal but I'm sure you'll change your mind once you meet the young man and his family in Esthar."

'Esthar? They were going to Esthar?' Rinoa's eyes widened in shock. 'Didn't Galbadia hate Esthar? Why would her father marry her off to an Estharian?' Then the pieces fell in place. 'This must be his way of bonding our two war torn nations. Just like in medieval times. Marry the children of two nations and they become one.'

Since Rinoa didn't respond Caraway felt he needed to explain further.

"The family you will be marrying into is actually the leader of the nation's. President Loire's. I'm sure you've already pieced together that Esthar has been historically our enemy, but a marriage between two powerful figures from each nation will stem any violence and bring hope to both nations, hope and peace."

Rinoa was right after all.

Caraway wasn't finished. "Now, President Loire has both a son and a daughter. Both are a little older than you. I'm sure you'll get along well with both of them."

Rinoa perked up, 'The son is my age! So I won't have to marry a 60-year-old like Quistis thought!' Her spirits were brought back down at the realization that he still wasn't Squall.

Caraway continued since Rinoa remained silent. "I've been assured that the boy will be given the presidency once the current one feels he is fit to do so. That means you will have wealth beyond even what I can offer you Rinoa. You will be set for life. Living comfortably and in pure bliss."

Rinoa eyed Caraway. 'Why must he always associate money and power with happiness?'

The limo slowed as they arrived at the Deling Train Station. Both passengers exited the limo without another word as they boarded a private car. Rinoa noted that it was even fancier than their normal one.

Caraway noticed Rinoa's eyes wandering. "I see you've noticed we're not in our regular car. President Loire was kind enough to allow us to ride in his personal car. Normally this car remains empty."

Rinoa didn't hear a word he said, she was still astonished that she was riding in a car made of pure gold. 'What a waste of money!'

* * *

Squall paced back and forth. 'I have no money to pay bills. I have no Rinoa to talk to. I have no Seifer to piss off. I have no job to earn money. Well, i have a job, just no healthy arm to do the job with.'

He stopped outside of his bedroom. 'What in the world can I do?'

* * *

Rinoa awoke as the train rolled to a stop. She hadn't meant to fall asleep, it was just this car's seats were softer than her bed. Then again, Rinoa wasn't even sure if these 'seats' were seats. Maybe they were beds.

Rinoa was quite distressed when the speaker above the car door informed her to disembark. She wanted to just live in the train car her whole life. It was so comfortable.

Caraway seemed to notice her reluctance and smiled. "Rinoa, you know this car will be yours to always use once you're married."

Rinoa's smiling face turned to a frown. 'That word; married.' Rinoa quickly stood up and exited the train car without another glance. She was determined to have a horrible time in Esthar. 'These people are barbaric. Every Galbadian knows that!' Rinoa stuck her nose up at the scurrying passengers running about Esthar North Station. 'I will NOT have a good time!'

Rinoa followed Caraway to a strange car. It was large, spacious… and flying. Rinoa stared at it. 'What in the world? How does it move without wheels?' Rinoa bent down a bit to check if there were wheels out of sight. The hovering car didn't make any sense to her.

She found herself somehow seated in the flying car next to Caraway and a brown haired girl a few years older than herself.

"Hi, I'm Ellone Loire! I'm the president's daughter." Ellone smiled brightly as she greeted both Galbadians and stuck out her hand for each to shake.

Caraway quickly took up her hand to shake while introducing himself, "Good day Miss, I'm sure you know I'm General Caraway of the Galbadian Military," He motioned to Rinoa who seemed to be staring out of the car's windows in wonder at the spectacle that was Esthar. "This is my daughter Rinoa Caraway."

Rinoa was brought out of her daze to see Ellone's hand held out to her. She blushed realizing she had lost focus on the current situation and quickly shook Ellone's hand.

Ellone smiled knowingly. "I'm sure you would both like a tour of Esthar and I'm pleased to be the one to give you it." She leaned forward to a button in the middle of the circular car. "Ward, take the scenic route."

* * *

Squall paced back and forth. He had been doing so ever since he woke up knowing he had absolutely nothing to do. He tested his arm by doing a few push ups. It hurt but not as badly as when he and Rinoa had left the hospital.

Squall got up and sat on the couch, 'Here's to hoping there's more than soap operas on in Deling.'

* * *

The car finally arrived at its grand finale. The Presidential Palace.

Rinoa could say she was awestruck during the first 5 minutes of the tour. The tall skyscrapers were nothing like Deling's buildings. Where Deling's tallest building was 5 stories, these were easily 100. Where Deling's were mostly brick and mortar, these were pure glass. Now that it had been 5 hours of a tour through the most amazing city she had ever seen, Rinoa wasn't sure if her brain could handle any more novelties.

Of course then they just had to arrive at The Presidential Palace. If she thought the rest of Esthar was tall, this place was a giant. If she thought the glasswork of the rest of Esthar was amazing, this one's crystal work proved to her that this building was on a whole different level than anything she had ever seen. Rinoa's breath caught in her throat as the building practically opened up to allow their car entry. Opened up from what appeared to be a mere wall of crystal.

Caraway was smirking, had he sold his daughter on the benefits of this marriage yet? She sure seemed enthralled by the spectacle. He would have to thank Ellone for the tour later.

"And that concludes our tour!" Ellone happily exclaimed as she jumped out of the car followed by Rinoa and Caraway.

Rinoa glanced around expecting to be in a garage of sorts. To her surprise she found herself in the main hallway of the Presidential Palace.

Ellone's voice brought Rinoa out of her daze. "So I'm sure you are both very tired, I'll show you to your rooms and…"

"HI! HOW ARE YOU? I HOPE YOU LOVE THIS PLACE!" A grown man came rushing through some doors that magically parted ways for him as he approached, or rather ran, to the trio.

Rinoa noted he had long hair but couldn't note much else as she found herself being put into a bear hug by the overly friendly man.

"I'm SO glad you made it! I'm sure you're going to just love Esthar and my home!" The man released Rinoa as a surprised Caraway became even more surprised as he received a similar bear hug.

Ellone fidgeted nervously. "Uh, Rinoa, General Caraway, please meet my dad, President Loire."

Rinoa was surprised to say the least. She was used to important people being rigid like her father. This man was anything but rigid.

President Loire released his grip on Caraway and took a step back to examine his two guests. Caraway seemed to have just recovered from the initial shock and brushed off the wrinkles the president's bear hug had put in his military uniform. He then stepped forward to introduce himself.

"Good evening Mr. President. I am General Caraway, we talked on the phone several times. This…" he waved at Rinoa who had become occupied staring at all the technology surrounding them. "This is Rinoa Caraway, my daughter. She is very eager to see life in Esthar as you can tell. She's also very eager to meet her future husband."

Rinoa jerked back to reality at the mention of 'husband', she momentarily frowned but remembered she was in the presence of important people. She didn't want to disappoint them; they had shown her nothing but kindness so far.

The president and Ellone frowned slightly. "Um, well… My son's not here at the moment..." The president stuttered.

"Uh right, he's running an important errand but he really wanted to be here." Ellone put in much more smoothly than her father.

Caraway nodded, "That's understandable, he too must be a very busy man. It is admirable to know that he is capable of putting his desires behind his obligation to his country."

Rinoa didn't say a word. 'Desires behind his obligations? That sounds just like Caraway! He's going to ignore me! I can tell already. Why can't he be like Squall? Someone that cares about me?' She frowned momentarily again.

* * *

Squall was up and pacing again. 'Damn soap operas! Why can't real programming be available during the day?'

Squall walked into the kitchen to try to prepare a meal. He smiled to himself as he remembered his food fight with Rinoa in that same spot. At the time he was surprised he even partook in it, he wasn't one to normally do something so childish. 'Must be Rinoa rubbing off on me.' Squall thought. Oh what he would give to have another food fight with her right then and there. 'No such luck, she's probably having the time of her life on her vacation.'

* * *

Rinoa found herself in her room. It had taken a while to actually be shown to them. The president going on and on about how happy he was they were there. Rinoa couldn't help associating the energetic president with her best friend Selphie. Both were insanely energetic, random to no end, and always optimistic. Both could also be insanely stupid at times Rinoa noted with a laugh. 'Mr. Loire would definitely be the type of father-in-law I would love to have. He's just so carefree compared to what I've grown up with my whole life.'

Rinoa glanced around the room. It was extravagant to say the least. Gold, silver, and silk adorned everything. From the walls to the bed. From the dresser to the doorknob. Rinoa wasn't even sure if she should move, afraid to accidently destroy something worth more than her life. Rinoa briefly wondered what it felt like to live in such luxury. True, she lived in luxury herself at the Caraway Mansion, but even the mansion was nothing compared to this.

She decided she'd ask Ellone. The girl was so much like Rinoa's other best friend, Quistis. Mature, quiet, and smart. 'Ellone would be the perfect sister-in-law.'

Rinoa frowned. 'If only Squall was the son, then everything would be perfect.'

* * *

Squall gave up trying to make food and ordered in. While he waited for his food to arrive he plopped onto the couch. He glanced at the coffee table where his dreaded hospital bill lay. He only had another month to pay it off. Squall cursed under his breath.

'How will I pay that? Laguna is being a dick. If he'd only send me my money I could pay that off! Hell I'd be able to spoil Rinoa silly too!' A thought came over Squall, 'What if I never get that money over here? Will I be stuck working at Zell's my whole life? Would Rinoa really put up with me that long knowing I'm going nowhere with my life? Hell, will Rinoa want to stay with me if she knew I couldn't even pay of a damn hospital bill?'

Squall cursed again and grabbed his phone. He'd have to take drastic measures. Well, more drastic than calling Laguna. He'd beg if he had to. He couldn't lose Rinoa over something stupid like money.

* * *

Rinoa was seated at the long table next to her father. The president and Ellone were seated across from them. Rinoa found it slightly amusing that the other ¾ of the pure crystal table wasn't being used.

"I hope you enjoy the food, we've brought in a Galbadian cook hopefully so the food isn't too outlandish for you." Ellone informed her guests with a smile. "I'm sure it won't be quite the same as when you're home but I've been assured these are the best Galbadian cooks in Esthar."

"YEA! I'm the one who recommended them! I LOVE Galbadian food!" Mr. Loire exclaimed before piling his plate full of various dishes.

Rinoa looked them over. They looked really good. She tried a bite and was amazed at the quality. If she didn't know better she would have thought she was eating in Galbadia. Well, in the most fancy Galbadian restaurant. 'This stuff is good… no… this stuff is BETTER than the food back home!' Rinoa thought. She smiled at the thought.

Rinoa glanced at her father and the way he was attacking his steaks told her he agreed. 'Imagine finding the best Galbadian cuisine doesn't even come from Galbadia!'

Rinoa turned to Ellone, "This food is amazing! How is it that there's better Galbadian food outside of Galbadia than inside?"

Ellone smiled at the younger girl, "Oh, it probably has something to do with Laguna bribing them to come to Esthar." She smiled at her father.

"Laguna?" Rinoa asked questioningly.

Ellone's eyes widened as she realized Rinoa didn't know her father's first name. "His name is Laguna, Laguna Loire." Ellone pointed at her father who was moving through his food like a hurricane, or pig.

"Oh." Rinoa simply said as she took a sip of the Estharian wine. It tasted so much better than Galbadian wine.

"Yea, you see, dad loves Galbadian food and has been searching the world for good cooks to fill the kitchens with and…" Ellone halted in mid sentence as she looked down at her vibrating purse. Reaching in she produced her phone. She frowned, "I'm sorry, I'll just get them to call me back la…" Ellone glanced down at the caller then looked back up at her guests, "I'm really sorry but I need to take this call." She hastily got up and walked to the other side of the long table to not disturb the rest of the diners.

* * *

"Squall?"

"Ellone! I need your help!"

* * *

Ellone looked back at the diners, they seemed to be enjoying the meal and not paying her any attention.

She turned back to her phone conversation, "What's wrong lil bro?"

* * *

Squall scrunched up his nose, Ellone knew he hated being called that. He was about to correct her when he remembered he was supposed to be begging her for help. He decided to suck up his pride and dive in.

"Sis, I need some cash."

* * *

Ellone was stunned momentarily, 'Squall begging? This has to be serious.'

"What do you need lil bro?"

* * *

"I have some bills piling up but Laguna won't forward my money to me, can I borrow some from you? I swear I'll pay you back as soon as possible." Squall wasn't sure if he had begged hard enough.

"Of course you can have some of mine!"

* * *

Ellone heard a breath of relief escape Squall's lips through the phone. "Thank you!"

"But Squall, where are you? Did you know your fiancé is here right now? She wanted to meet you too."

* * *

Squall groaned. "I'm in another country Ellone, I can't go through with that marriage. Laguna probably hooked me up with an airhead."

Squall began pacing back and forth again. Was being an airhead really that bad? Hadn't he thought the same about Rinoa before he got to know her?

* * *

Ellone looked back at the table. Rinoa was looked at her and Ellone had to quickly avert her gaze. "Squall! She's dining with me right now! She seems very nice. I think you'd like her a lot. You should come back and meet her."

"That's not going to happen." Ellone was taken aback by the finality of Squall's statement.

* * *

"Why not? What else are you going to do in your life?"

Squall frowned. He hadn't meant to offend Ellone, "Sis, I'm seeing someone here. I think she's the perfect match for me. I'm sorry, I can't go through with Laguna's arranged marriage."

* * *

Ellone's eyes widened. 'Squall found his true love? Was that possible? He had never even dated before!'

Ellone decided it was best not to doubt her little brother. "Alright Squall, I'll make sure you get your money, but, if things don't work out, will you please consider this marriage? I really like this girl. She's so sweet. So innocent. And I think she's in love with Esthar."

* * *

"Whatever. Thanks Ellone." Squall hung up the phone. 'Mission Accomplished.'

Squall leaned back in the sofa. He would be financially sound from here on out. He'd be able to spoil Rinoa like no other and she'd have no reason to ever leave him.

* * *

Ellone walked back down the table to where the other three were sitting. Laguna looked at her quizzically.

"Who was that?"

Ellone shrugged, "Lil Bro."

Caraway's attention was gained at this. "That was Rinoa's fiancé?"

Ellone looked up at Caraway, how could she forget who her guests were? She couldn't tell them what Squall told her. That he had no intentions of marrying his daughter. That he had another one that he loved. "Er, yea. He was just telling me it would take him longer than expected. Um, he forgot it was dinner time over here."

Caraway nodded and returned to his meat. Rinoa frowned momentarily, 'I bet he's not even trying to get done early to see me. Well that's fine. I don't want to see him either!'

* * *

Rinoa was in awe of her guest bathroom. A Jacuzzi was filled instantly with warm water at the touch of a button.

Rinoa slid into the comfort of the warm bubbly waters. Life couldn't possibly get any better than this. Well maybe it could. Maybe if Squall was with her.

* * *

Squall stepped out of the shower. 'Damned apartment maintenance! How long is it going to be before they fix the water heater?'

Squall grumbled as he headed to his room. Seifer was already snoring on the couch alone. Squall smirked; apparently Seifer wasn't getting any tonight.

* * *

Rinoa waved goodbye to Ellone and Laguna. She had failed horribly at 'not having a good time.'

It was the following morning; the bed had been even better than the train car's. Rinoa had fallen asleep as soon as she got over the anxiety of breaking something in the expensive room and slide into the bed.

Despite the comfort and glamour surrounding her, Rinoa took little encouragement to board the car that would begin her journey back home, her journey back to Squall.

* * *

Squall awoke in a sour mood. It had only been two days since he last saw Rinoa but that was the longest time apart since they had agreed to see each other.

He made his way to the kitchen right when a knock sounded on his door. 'Who could that be?' Squall glanced at the couch. Seifer wasn't there. 'Idiot forgot his keys again.'

Squall walked over to the door to unlock it but didn't bother opening the door for Seifer. 'Let the idiot open his own door!' Squall turned away from the door and headed back towards the kitchen. When he noticed the door hadn't opened yet he called out over his shoulder, "It's unlocked!"

Squall wasn't really sure what happened next. He remembered a loud bang as the door slammed into the wall as someone exploded through it. He remembered briefly wondering what crawled up Seifer's ass but was torn from that thought as something jumped on his back from behind. Squall stumbled forward a few steps before falling roughly to the wood floor below. Squall groaned in pain. 'Who the hell?'

"Hiya!"

Squall froze at the voice. Was his mind deceiving him? 'She isn't supposed to be here. Or is she?' Squall turned around as the person on his back slid off. He came face to face with the only thing that could lift him out of his sour mood. Rinoa.

She merely smiled at him and climbed back on top of him to sit on his stomach. She leaned over to kiss him.

In that moment Squall didn't care that he was lying on a hard wooden floor, that he didn't know why she was there, that he hadn't shaved yet, or even that he was still extremely hungry. He only knew one thing. 'I could lie like this forever, this is what a comfortable life really is.'


	7. Handsome Beautiful

Uploaded: 2009.11.03 (I'd like to thank **K** for pointing out some confusion in the previous chapter. In that chapter Squall had a job at Zell's, he just couldn't do it due to his injury.)

Disclaimer: Whatever

Handsome/Beautiful

* * *

"I've been told he's very **handsome**."

"I don't care!" Rinoa was in another argument with Caraway.

"You saw how wealthy they are Rinoa. All of that can be yours." Caraway was being surprisingly civil.

"I'm not that shallow!" Rinoa screamed through the speaker on her wall. She didn't care that all the servants in her room heard their argument.

Caraway's voice came through the other end of the speaker, continuing his 'friendly' tone. Rinoa found it eerily unsettling. "Rinoa, just think of the life you would live. Just think of how nice a couple you would make with a handsome man on your arm! Like tonight for instance. Wouldn't you rather be escorted there by a handsome young man? Soon to be the most powerful man in the world? The wealthiest man in the world?"

Rinoa would have thrown herself onto her bed and tried to block out Caraway's annoying voice if she wasn't stuck on a pedestal being measured by five different servants. Rinoa was being fitted for a dress to wear to Caraway's formal birthday party, a dress that was still being designed by the mansion's tailor sitting off to the side. "I already told you! Only someone like you cares about power, money, and external beauty! I care about internal beauty!" Rinoa knew that wasn't completely true, she did care about external beauty too, 'Like Squall's eyes… Those deep blue eyes… If I could only see one thing for the rest of my life, those would definitely be it…'

Rinoa was broken out of her thoughts of Squall as her father's voice boomed through the speaker again. It was no longer friendly. Rinoa preferred it this way, at least now she was facing a familiar opponent. "Fine Rinoa, I don't care if you like your future husband! You are marrying him and no one else!"

Rinoa glared at the speaker on the wall. She turned to some of the servants measuring her. "Turn that thing off, I don't want to hear his crabby voice anymore."

Before any of the servants could move, Caraway's voice boomed back over, "Follow her order and I'll have you exiled from Galbadia!"

All of the servants decided it was best to stay on General Caraway's good side and made no effort to carry out Rinoa's orders.

Rinoa frowned. 'Fine if that's how it has to be.' Rinoa jumped off the pedestal, to a chorus of shrieks and protests from the servants and tailor, rushed over to the speaker and slammed it off.

She turned around to see everyone's astonished faces turn to anger.

"Ms. Rinoa! You just messed up an hour's worth of measuring and designing! We're going to have to start all over!" The tailor exclaimed, obviously very upset.

Rinoa looked around at the servants, upon hearing that their work had gone down the drain their shoulders slumped even further. 'Oops, guess I caused their day to be extended by an hour.'

Rinoa climbed back onto the pedestal to begin the measurements all over again before turning to one of the servants, "Hey, get me my phone."

This order was followed and soon Rinoa was passing the time chatting to the only guy she wanted to talk to. Much to the servant's dismay however, she was moving around quite a bit on the pedestal making it harder to get accurate measurements.

* * *

"Hello?" Squall groggily picked up his phone. It was so early in the morning. He glanced at the clock. 8am. 'This better be good.'

"HI SQUALL!"

That definitely woke Squall up.

* * *

Rinoa almost fell off the pedestal when she shouted her greeting through the phone. She had jumped with excitement upon hearing his voice. He sounded quite tired.

"Oh, hey Rin. Why are you up so early?"

Rinoa looked around, 'It's early?' Rinoa looked at the clock, 'Oh, oops.' She turned back to her phone. "Oh sorry Squall, I had to get up real early to get a dress fitted for Caraway's birthday tonight. I didn't realize it was still so early. I've been up for a while."

* * *

Squall had to think back to his conversation with Rinoa at the hospital to remember that 'Caraway' was her father. "Oh, well, wish him happy birthday from me. I'm sure you must look amazing in whatever they are fitting you for."

"Thanks Squall!"

* * *

Rinoa was so giddy, after hearing the harsh voice of her father for most of the morning, now she heard the soothing voice of Squall.

An idea came to Rinoa. "Hey Squall, why don't you come to the party? Except, let's NOT wish Caraway a happy birthday. I'd rather wish he rot in hell."

* * *

Squall didn't think much of it. "Sure, when is it?" He assumed he probably shouldn't bring a gift if Rinoa was wishing he 'rot in hell.'

"The Grand Hall at 6!"

* * *

"Okay, I'll be there."

Rinoa smiled. She didn't know how Squall did it, but he now had a car. A nice car at that. She loved it when Squall took her places in it. It was so much more fun than having to drive him around. Rinoa briefly wondered how he got the money so quickly; his car wasn't cheap. In fact, she believed it was an import from Esthar, those things were very rare in Galbadia. Not that Rinoa actually knew anything about cars. Rinoa briefly worried that maybe Squall was dealing drugs. She almost as quickly dismissed the thought. "Squall, it's really formal so, I think you'll need a tux."

* * *

Squall frowned. He hated tuxes. He hated all formalwear actually. "Alright, I'll get one."

"Oh and Squall, I can show you the proper rituals and stuff. It's going to be really fancy." Squall smirked, it sounded like Rinoa was afraid he wouldn't know what to do in a prestigious setting, that he'd embarrass her or something. Then again she thought he was some random runaway.

* * *

"Sure Rin, although I think I'll surprise you with how much I know already."

Rinoa blinked, 'Where would Squall have learned proper dining rituals?' Then she remembered it was her turn to talk. "Oh, um, alright. I'll see you later tonight then."

* * *

"Alright."

"I love you!"

"Love you too."

Both phones hung up in unison.

Squall rolled out of bed and stood up to see the glaring son coming through his window. 'It's still too damn early!' Squall rolled back into bed and decided to nap for a while longer. He'd have to go rent a tux sometime before 6.

* * *

Once Rinoa hung up her phone she looked down at the servants still trying to measure her arms that she had been waving about. "Oops! I'm sorry, here, I'll stop moving so much."

The servants looked up at her with a smile of gratitude.

Rinoa turned to one that seemed to be less important than the others as far as her fitting was going. "Hey, can you turn back on the line with Caraway? I have some news for him."

The servant was caught a bit off guard. It was unheard of for Ms. Rinoa to actually 'want' to talk to her father but she did as she was told.

"Yes?"

Rinoa frowned. His voice was always so rough, so unfriendly. "A friend is coming tonight. Place another seat next to me." Rinoa decided it was probably best not to mention that it was her boyfriend.

Caraway grunted. "Which one is it? The airhead in pink or the annoying yellow one?"

Rinoa frowned, Caraway always made fun of her friends. They weren't good enough for him. "You'll have to wait and see." She couldn't really just tell him that it was neither. That would get him suspicious.

Caraway never responded; he merely terminated the connection.

Rinoa smiled to herself. 'Score one for the good guys!' Rinoa did a little arm pump at her victory only to the distressed scream of one of the servants that were measuring that arm. "Oh! Sorry! I'll stop moving! I swear!"

* * *

Squall arrived at the Grand Hall promptly at 6. It was a grand affair he could tell. His car was ushered to the red carpet entrance and a valet took his keys to take care of his car. 'That kid better not mess it up! That car's worth a million gil! It took so much money and time to get it shipped from Esthar.'

"Squall!"

Squall looked up to see Rinoa waving to him from the entrance. She was wearing a light blue backless dress that hugged her form down to her ankles. Actually they were down to her toes as she was wearing matching high-heels. Squall smirked, 'Must be hella hard for her to walk in that. High-heels and the dress barely gives her room to do more than take baby steps on her tiptoes. I don't envy you Rinoa.' Squall looked down at his suit. 'I don't envy me either. I look like a freaking penguin!'

Rinoa was all smiles by the time Squall got to her. Her arms were almost waved out of her sockets too. Squall smirked.

"What?" Rinoa asked when she noticed. "Is there something on my face?"

Squall laughed lightly, "No Rinoa, you look beautiful. I was just thinking, this is the first time you didn't jump me as soon as you saw me."

Rinoa laughed upon realizing he wasn't laughing at her. "Well, I would but then I think this dress would rip off my body." Rinoa smoothed out some nonexistent wrinkles on her dress.

Squall noted it was some of the finest silk Galbadia had. And since Galbadia didn't have the technology Esthar had to produce silk, it was probably extremely expensive. "Well, in that case, what are you waiting for? Jump me!" Squall smiled before bursting into a fit of laughter.

Rinoa laughed along with Squall. "Oh, you look handsome in your tux." Rinoa added as she eyed him up and down. 'His shoulders really stand out in the tux!' Rinoa almost squealed in delight at the thought.

Squall nodded at Rinoa's compliment and lent her his arm to hang on to as he escorted her into the party.

The two didn't really feel like mingling with the other guests. They were all high ranking officers in the military or political system. Rinoa didn't think there was anyone there that was less than half her and Squall's age. She always hated attending these events. At least this time she had Squall with her.

Rinoa pointed Squall towards their seats at the table; Rinoa was elated to find that Caraway chose not to sit with her. Squall carefully guided Rinoa to the seats so that she wouldn't trip on her dress. It took a while to get to their seats but once seated they decided Rinoa's inability to walk would be a good reason to not mingle with everyone else.

Squall looked at Rinoa, "So, that's a nice dress, I don't remember you buying when we went shopping together."

Rinoa blushed. "Yes well, this was what I was being fitted for this morning. Well, actually they were still designing it at the time."

Squall smiled, 'Interesting, that means she has a personal tailor.' Squall's smile broke into a grin, "You know, you might want to tell your tailor to design something less restricting so you can actually walk."

Rinoa laughed and playfully hit Squall's shoulder. She instantly blushed, 'Hyne his shoulders are so… so… solid.' Rinoa shook herself, 'Can't be thinking like that, not here.' She smiled at her boyfriend. "Isn't this the way you guys like us girls? Helpless? Easy prey?"

Squall laughed, "I think guys like you no matter what Rinoa."

She blushed but couldn't respond as their food began to arrive.

* * *

Squall noted that it was good quality food. Beyond good, it was exceptional quality. He frowned a bit when it made him think of the food he used to eat all the time back at the Presidential Palace.

Rinoa noticed his frown. "What's wrong Squall? Don't like your steak? We can get you another one."

"Oh no, it's nothing Rin." Squall emphasized his point by sticking a piece in his mouth.

Rinoa smiled, "Good I can't have you starving to death on me. What would I do if you did that?"

Squall just chewed his steak.

* * *

Dinner carried on for hours. Squall swore just about every person in the dining hall, excluding himself and Rinoa, stood up at some point to toast Rinoa's father. Even the cook and waiters came out to toast the man.

Squall remembered Rinoa saying her father was a general. Now was the time he wished he had paid more attention in his Foreign Politics class. Maybe he would have known who General Caraway was.

Both Rinoa and Squall finished their meal within the first thirty minutes. Unfortunately that meant they were to sit at the table with nothing to do but listen to hundreds of toasts for the next few hours.

Despite his boredom, Squall made sure he sat up straight throughout the entire torturous event. He had been trained well in the Presidential Palace. He glanced to his side to see Rinoa was resting her head on her hands on the table. Her plate being cleared within the first hour. On closer inspection Squall noticed Rinoa was sleeping.

Finally the boring toasts came to an end and some couples began making their way to the dance floor. Other couples made their way to the general to give their congratulations.

Squall decided it would be best if he woke Rinoa up at this point and gently shook her awake.

Rinoa's brown eyes opened cautiously at first. She smiled when she saw that it was Squall waking her up. When she noticed where she was however she immediately sat up and looked around to see if anyone was laughing at her.

"Don't worry, nobody noticed." Squall reassured her.

Rinoa turned to Squall with a smile of thanks. Squall noticed Rinoa had a slight impression of her hands on her cheek where she had rested her head on. He grinned a bit and Rinoa went straight to her compact and let out a groan.

"Next time, don't let me fall asleep!" Rinoa scolded playfully.

"Oh but it was so fun to watch you sleep. You were drooling you know." Squall joked.

Rinoa's expression turned to horror. "I did not!" Despite her confidence, she stole a glance at the table to look for any drool.

Squall burst out laughing. "No you didn't but you should have seen your face right there."

Rinoa squinted her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him. "Meanie."

Squall laughed some more before getting up and offering Rinoa his hand. "I supposed you wouldn't want to congratulate your father over there. So I was wondering if you'd like to dance?"

Rinoa glanced in the direction Squall had indicated to see many dignitaries talking to Caraway. "I'd love to dance with you Mr. Leonhart! And of course I don't want to congratulate Caraway on his achievement of not croaking yet."

Squall grinned at Rinoa's obvious hatred to her father. He wondered why she felt so strongly against the man. She didn't seem to him to be mistreated or abused in anyway.

The couple danced to 'The Waltz of the Moon'. Rinoa found herself hugging Squall tightly in the middle of it. She looked up at him and he smiled down at her. Squall noticed Rinoa's attention draw past him and he looked above them both to witness a shooting star streaking across the sky through the hall's glass roof.

Once the star vanished from sight, Squall looked back down at Rinoa. Her lips were slightly apart as she seemed to be lost in his eyes again. Squall leaned in.

Rinoa noticed and was slightly frustrated that she was already on her toes in her high-heels. She couldn't get any closer. All she could do is smile and pray he'd lean down further and grace her with his lips.

Squall answered Rinoa's inaudible pleas and closed the gap. It was a quick kiss. But as Squall pulled away he saw how much Rinoa wanted it to last longer and leaned forward again. This time their lips didn't part for a while.

Rinoa was lost. Not in Squall's eyes, or his voice, or his chest, or his shoulders. This time, she was lost in his lips, in his mouth. Literally, she didn't know where her tongue was in his mouth. But she didn't care. She knew it was in his mouth and it felt good.

Squall was just as lost in Rinoa as she was in him. Both felt like they were the only ones on the dance floor. The only ones in the dance hall. The only ones in the world.

* * *

Unfortunately they weren't the only ones in any of those. And unfortunately one of those people noticed their little lip lock. And unfortunately that person was known as General Caraway.

The general marched right past the President of Galbadia and his wife and stalked onto the dance floor. He reached his daughter and the boy who dared claim her lips and tore them apart from each other.

Squall and Rinoa were equally surprised. So was everyone else in the building. But none of them were ready for what came next.

"Who the FUCK are you?" Caraway shouted at Squall. Before Squall had a chance to answer the general turned to his daughter. "And YOU. What the fuck do you think you're doing? You cannot behave like this!"

Rinoa was the only one in the hall used to Caraway's outbursts and thus the only one capable of responding. "I can BEHAVE however I want! I'm not one of your soldiers to be ordered around!"

Caraway's anger only grew. Everyone else in the hall were torn between seeing what happened next and trying to butt out of an obvious family feud. "You are my daughter and you will respect my orders! You should be glad that you're safe in Galbadia! What would have happened if someone saw you like this? You would lose EVERYTHING you stupid girl!"

Only a select few actually knew what Caraway meant by 'someone'. To Rinoa it was obvious, the Estharian President's son. To Squall, it was a generic comment. He didn't actually know just how badly Rinoa had messed up but he wasn't going to let her father get away with publicly humiliating her. "Excuse me sir, I don't think even you have a right to humiliate Rinoa like this. She is a human being and can think for herself." Squall tried being the calm one in the argument.

Caraway glared at the boy, "I'll ask again, who the FUCK are you? And who do you think you are to tell me how to raise MY ungrateful daughter? The only one who would have that right is her FIANCE and that's definitely NOT you!"

Squall was slightly taken aback. He was fine for most of Caraway's short speech, not the 'fiancé' part though. He glanced down at Rinoa then back at Caraway. 'What the hell is going on here?'

Caraway smirked, "Hah I bet you didn't know that this bitch is already engaged to a man much more powerful and wealthy than you will ever be! Why don't you get lost?"

Squall closed his eyes and took a breath. 'Rinoa is already engaged? Was she playing with me this entire time?' Squall looked towards Rinoa who seemed to be helplessly crying. He came to the decision he should leave and headed for the exit, head held high. His status as the President of Esthar's son wouldn't allow him to run like a dog.

Rinoa watched as Squall left the hall. All eyes on him. Rinoa would have ran after him if it wasn't for Caraway's hand still gripped her shoulder. That and if she wasn't frozen in place in fear. That and if she wasn't wearing such restrictive clothing where she couldn't do more than shuffle around.

Caraway turned to Rinoa with a triumphant smirk, "I bet you thought you were being crafty seeing that scum! You will marry President Loire's son! I'll talk to him tomorrow about setting the date in stone." Caraway released Rinoa and she fell to the ground. Caraway frowned at her weakness and walked away.

* * *

Squall waited outside waiting for the valet to retrieve his car. 'That was humiliating. At least nobody knew who I was.'

He fidgeted. It was somewhat cold out here. Even with his jacket.

Squall saw his black sports car driving to him. At least he would be getting out of here soon.

The car pulled up to the curb and the driver's side door slid up (**A.N.** look at a Lamborghini, Reventon to be exact. Damn I want a $1.6 million car.). The valet walked around the car to hand Squall his keys as he heard someone running behind him. The pitter-patter of bare feet.

"Squall!"

Squall turned around to see Rinoa running at him. He had to look twice. Yes Rinoa was running. Squall looked down to see she had discarded her heels; she was barefoot. Glancing up he noticed Rinoa had also torn her dress up the front so her legs could actually move. The extra length of the dress with the purpose of being used with high-heels dragged behind her like a bridal train.

Squall frowned. She ruined her obviously expensive dress. "What are you doing Rinoa? Your fiancé wouldn't want you to catch a cold out here. He probably wouldn't appreciate that you ruined that dress either. It must have cost a lot. Galbadian silk is quite expensive."

Rinoa was momentarily surprised Squall knew exactly what her dress was made of, or the fact that he knew it was expensive. But that was quickly forgotten when she noticed how he was talking about her fiancé. 'Curse whoever my future husband is supposed to be!' Rinoa thought.

Rinoa finally caught up to where Squall still stood, likely stunned, the valet was also just as stunned. "Squall! I'm sorry I didn't tell you about my arranged marriage but…" Rinoa had thought she'd be able to stand in front of Squall and apologize like a sophisticated person. Especially once she tore away at her dress and removed her heels. That came crashing down though when tears began streaming down her cheeks and she felt her legs cave out from under her.

Luckily Squall was quick enough to catch her before she landed on the pavement. "Rinoa, I don't think you should be out here." He should have been mad at her; Squall knew it. But he really couldn't bring himself to be. After the way her own father treated her, he really couldn't find any possible way to be mad at her. Hell, it made Squall actually think his own father was an angel.

Rinoa shook her head. "No, I'd rather die here with you then be forced to marry that creep! My father is forcing me to do this Squall! Don't you see? I love you! I don't want to marry my fiancé!" Rinoa broke down in sobs. All her strength was leaving her rapidly.

Squall felt her going limp. She was almost hysterical.

Squall glanced over Rinoa's sobbing form. Her dress was torn all the way up to her thighs and the bottom was very dirty. Her feet were black from the asphalt. Her hair was a chaotic mess. Her eyes were rimmed red and pouring out water. Her face was streaked with both dried and very moist tears. Her arms hung limply to her side. Her bare shoulder held a bruise from where her father had grabbed her. Squall swore he had never seen a more beautiful creature.

He pulled her into an embrace. "Rinoa, I believe you. You don't want what's happening to you. It's out of your control."

Rinoa's sobs slowed as soon as she felt Squall's embrace. His words only lifted her heart higher. She didn't know if she should push her luck but she had to know. "Squall, do you forgive me?"

Squall smiled at her, "Yes."

Rinoa smiled back through her tears.

In Squall's mind, they only made her eyes sparkle. 'All the more beautiful.'

Rinoa knew there was still one thing she had to get off her chest. "Squall, what about my arranged marriage? I don't want to marry him. I don't even know who he is but I know he's nothing like you."

Squall frowned slightly before covering it up with a smile. "We'll find a way to get you out of it." Squall silently added to himself, 'And I'll find a way to get out of mine.'

Rinoa reached up and pulled Squall's head down to meet hers. This time she was glad she could do something to bring their lips together. This time their lip lock lasted for what some would call ages. Rinoa smiled through the kiss, 'Squall is handsome. He is handsome throughout his entire being, both inside and out.'


	8. Reputation

Uploaded: 2009.11.05; 2009.11.06 (Fixed some typos)

Disclaimer: Whatever

Reputation

* * *

"What about your **reputation**?"

"This has nothing to do with my reputation." Squall stated calmly.

* * *

"This has everything to do with YOUR reputation you STUPID girl!"

"Please explain the reason to me oh dear father." Rinoa replied sarcastically.

* * *

"You were begging me for money Squall! You can't possibly be living a good life there!" Laguna exclaimed.

"I'll have you know I'm doing just fine without YOUR help." Squall stressed. 'Apparently Ellone hasn't squealed to Laguna yet.'

* * *

"Hah! You'd be out on the street! You have no job, no house! Without MY help you'd be nothing!" Caraway gloated.

"You seem to think I'm helpless! Well I'll have you know I have friends who believe I can actually be something!" Rinoa shot back with just as much venom.

* * *

"Friends? Squall you've never told me about anyone but Seifer. Oh and that girl. When do I meet her?" Laguna's mood shifted randomly.

"Some father you are. You'll never know who the girl is. And I will never marry whoever it is you have me set up with." Squall replied defiantly.

* * *

"If you don't stop seeing THAT boy I'll have him exiled from Galbadia! What would President Loire's son think if he saw that? What would he do to this marriage if he saw that?" Caraway thundered.

"You can't do that! He didn't do anything wrong! And screw President Loire's son!" Rinoa protested.

* * *

"Squall! You're supposed to be the level-headed one in the family! It's why you're taking over when I retire!" Laguna exclaimed in desperation.

"You'll never retire. It's not like you'd do anything different when you do cause you don't do anything now anyways!" Squall returned.

* * *

"Oh I will retire Rinoa. After you have been successfully married off to a man who can care for you like you deserve." Caraway said in a much softer tone than normal.

"I guess you'll never retire because I'm NEVER marrying that boy!" Rinoa shouted.

* * *

"Why are you so against marrying her? She comes from a great family. She's nice. And I liked her a lot when she came to visit!" Laguna counted off the reasons he liked Rinoa.

"Because YOU picked her Laguna. I will marry ANY girl in the world. Except her." Squall grinned on his end of the phone. 'Let's see him chew THAT one over.'

* * *

"Hmm, any other boy… So if I hooked you up with Major Biggs you would accept?" Caraway grinned evilly.

"What? Hell no! That moron is too stupid to breathe! Besides, the marriage wouldn't satisfy YOUR reputation requirements!" Rinoa laughed at the notion of her ever marrying one of Caraway's subordinates.

* * *

"Squall! I swear this isn't about my reputation. It's about yours! You have to be presentable to take the presidency!" Laguna turned back to pleading with his son.

"Presentable you say? Try this for presentable!" Squall took his phone and threw it across the apartment where it shattered against the wall. 'Damn, I just got that phone yesterday too… Maybe I can return it.'

* * *

Rinoa fled her father's study. 'Why won't that man listen? I don't want to marry someone I don't love. I don't care what looks good. I don't care what other people think. I want to marry Squall!'

Instead of heading to her room she ran out of the house and into her silver car. She hadn't driven it for a while, instead opting for Squall to drive her everywhere in his elegant sports car. Rinoa still couldn't understand where he got the money. 'It must have cost a fortune. Maybe I should ask him.'

* * *

Squall paced the living room. He was in a new apartment. It was much bigger than the old one and in a better neighborhood. Seifer had been overjoyed to finally get his own bedroom. He and Quistis had been going at it nightly. Squall had to tell them to keep it down multiple times. He was tempted to buy him his own apartment, on the other side of town.

Thunk!

'What the hell are they doing in there?'

He then heard a feminine moan.

'Oh.'

Squall took a seat on one of the several sofas. He hadn't hesitated to make their new apartment awesome. 60" plasmas adorned three walls in the living room with a set of couches in front of each. Squall wasn't really sure why he put 3 television sets in the same room.

Thunk!

'Damn they're going to break down the wall!'

Knock, knock!

Squall whirled around. That didn't come from Seifer's room.

Knock, knock!

'Oh, the door.'

Squall quickly got up to answer it. He opened the door wide only to end up on his back.

"Squall!" A very happy Rinoa was sitting on top of him. "I thought you learned to catch me by now."

"Hey Rinoa." Squall grimaced as the girl got off him and he followed suit, rubbing his tailbone.

"Did you miss me?" Rinoa bounced up and down in front of Squall.

"Yea, um, what are you doing here?"

"Oh I tried calling on my way over but you didn't pick up."

Squall glanced at the remains of his phone. 'I better get another one soon.' He turned back to Rinoa smiling, "I guess I sort of lost my phone. It must be around her somewhere. It might even be in multiple places around here."

Rinoa looked at him confused.

Thunk!

"Eeek!" Rinoa jumped back into Squall's arms as if a mouse had scurried across the floor. "What was that?"

Thunk!

Squall rolled his eyes. "Just Seifer and Quistis. Thank god he has his own room."

"Woof, woof."

"What in Hyne's name are they doing in there to make that much noise?" Rinoa wandered closer to the door.

Thunk!

"I don't think you want to go in there Rinoa." Squall stated nervously as he went after his girlfriend to prevent an embarrassing situation.

Thunk!

"Why not? I need to make sure Seifer isn't hurting Quisty!" Rinoa broke into a sprint towards the offending room.

Thunk!

Squall groaned and ran after her calling out, "Wait! Rinoa! Don't!"

Thunk!

It was too late; Rinoa had already pulled the door open. Squall stopped where he stood. 'This won't be pretty.'

"Woof, woo…?"

Rinoa's eyes grew wide. The noises from inside the room stopped.

"Ahhhhhh!" Two feminine voices screeched out at the same time.

"Get the fuck out!" A rather angry masculine voice shouted.

Rinoa quickly backed out of the room and slammed the door shut. She turned to face Squall who slowly approached her.

"Told you not to go in there."

Rinoa fell into Squall and hugged him around the neck. Squall noticed she was shaking. He embraced her for comfort. 'I guess that was traumatizing for her.'

Squall continued patting Rinoa on the back but her shaking seemed to only increase. He looked down at his girlfriend. 'Is she alright?'

"Rinoa?"

Rinoa let go of Squall and fell to the floor. She wasn't crying. She was laughing. Laughing her ass off. Rolling on floor laughing her ass off.

"Oh my Hyne! Squall! You should have seen them! They were so scared when I opened the door! Seifer was tied to the bed and Quistis was holding a whip and wearing this really weird leather outfit with a dog collar and a leash attached!"

Squall rubbed his head. 'Seifer was tied to the bed?'

Seifer's door opened again and Quistis stepped out.

"So Quisty, any sexual fantasies you want to share?" Rinoa was still on the ground laughing her ass off.

Quistis immediately blushed and turned to go head back into the room.

"No! Wait! Don't go Quisty! I was just kidding!" Quistis turned back around still blushing profusely. "I wanted to talk to you, I was thinking about getting a 'woof, woof'."

Quistis' eyes bulged and she turned to leave again.

"Wait! Quistis! I meant a dog! I have a name for it already, Angelo!" Quistis turned back. "You wouldn't happen to have any supplies I could use would you?"

Squall watched as Quistis again turned to leave. Squall thought he saw tears forming in her eyes.

"Rinoa, I think you've tormented your friend enough."

"Aw, you're no fun! This will teach them to lock the door next time. Especially if they plan on doing that freaky stuff again." Rinoa was still rolling on the floor laughing her ass off.

Before Quistis could hide inside Seifer's room, Seifer himself came out. He looked embarrassed too.

Squall smirked at Seifer. "You sure you're the one banging her? Or is she banging you?"

Seifer glared. "I don't see you banging anybody so shut up!"

"If that's what you call banging, I think I'd prefer to keep my manhood intact."

Seifer glared harder. "Shut up!" Seifer reached for his gunblade; apparently he expected this kind of teasing and came prepared.

"Whoa there!" Squall backed off. "How bout we just go wreck the town or something?"

Rinoa got off the floor, she was still giggling every time she looked at either of the embarrassed couple. Quistis was staring at the ground. Seifer had his hand on his gunblade as he thought over the proposition.

"Fine, but not another word of this. Ever!" Seifer agreed.

Squall shrugged and looked at Rinoa. She shrugged too. "Alright, we won't mention your perverted fantasies anymore." This earned Squall another glare and the hand closed over the handle of the gunblade. "But, we need something to do."

"Let's go to the fair!" Rinoa exclaimed.

"No! No fairs!" Seifer shot the idea down before anyone could voice their opinion.

"Okay… Oh! I know! Disneyland!" Rinoa bounced up and down excitedly.

"Why the fuck do you wanna go there? Take a picture with a mouse? I'll go get a mouse from our old apartment you can take a picture with." Seifer grumbled.

Rinoa glared at Seifer. 'Two perfectly good ideas and Mr. Stick-Up-My-Ass won't do either!'

"How about we go to the balle…" Quistis began.

"No! I said no to that earlier and my answer is still no!" Seifer again shot down another idea.

"How about…" Quistis tried again.

"No! Not that either." Seifer didn't even let Quistis finish her sentence.

Quistis glared at her boyfriend, her embarrassment from earlier forgotten. Seifer ignored her and looked for Squall's suggestion.

Squall shrugged. "I don't care what we do."

Seifer smiled, "Then I guess it's up to me to decide! Squall you go sleep." He grabbed Rinoa's hand and began pushing Quistis towards his room again. Rinoa quickly yanked her arm away.

"Um, how bout no?" Rinoa rubbed her hand on the carpet. 'No clue where that hand's been. I doubt he had time to shower. Ewww!'

Seifer frowned. "Fine, how bout… we go paintballing."

Rinoa had never gone paintballing. "Okay."

Quistis frowned. "No. Those things hurt."

Seifer frowned. "How bout we shoot stuff other than each other?"

Quistis and Rinoa looked at each other for a moment. "Okay." They said in unison.

Squall shrugged. 'Considering this is Seifer's idea. It's probably a bad one.'

* * *

All four piled into Quistis' sedan.

Seifer pulled out a sole paintball fun and filled it up with random colors.

"Who's going first?" He looked at Quistis; she was driving. He looked at Rinoa; she shook her head. He looked at Squall; he was holding Rinoa in the backseat. "Alright, I'll go first."

Seifer stuck his upper body out of the passenger side window and took aim. He released a couple quick shots and ducked back inside the car. "Did you see that?"

Rinoa was laughing hysterically. Seifer had pretty good aim. He had put two 'nipples' on the breasts of a woman advertising something on a giant billboard. She looked past the fact that the 'nipples' were green and purple on the blue shirt the woman was wearing.

"Alright who's next?" Seifer looked between Squall and Rinoa. Rinoa shook her head again so Squall took the gun.

"Hey Quistis, pop the sunroof." Squall called out as he undid his seatbelt.

Quistis pushed the button and Squall stuck his head out the top of the car. He quickly checked to make sure there wasn't any low hanging beams up ahead. He didn't really want to lose his head today.

After ensuring his relative safety, Squall took aim and let loose a barrage of paintballs. His aim wasn't as good as Seifer's. Squall ducked back into the car. "How's it look?"

Rinoa was laughing again. Not as hard though. Squall managed to draw a squiggly smiley face and two crooked eyes in the middle of the second 'O' on the sign for the Local Groceries.

Squall pushed the gun towards Rinoa but she waved it off, "Oh no! I've never shot one before! I don't know how to shoot it."

Squall spent the next few minutes explaining it to her. She still refused and let Seifer go again instead.

Seifer took the gun with a grin. "You just watch, this one will be absolutely perfect!"

Seifer chose to use the sunroof this time, like Squall he checked for overhanging beams that could take off his head before he looked for his target.

He found it and let loose many barrages of paint. He ducked back in but didn't bother turning around to the couple in the back. "Go, go, go! Step on it Quistis!"

Rinoa wasn't really laughing but Squall sure was. Seifer had impaled a police car parked at the local donut shop. He didn't just deface the squad car, he wrote a message: 'MMM DOH NUTS'.

Luckily by the time the cop finally got out of the shop Quistis' car was long gone. Once he was sure they were safe Seifer turned back to Rinoa and Squall. "Whadya think?"

Rinoa was speechless, she had never dreamed of defacing government property. Squall was still laughing. "That had to be the best one today!"

Seifer turned to Rinoa, "Wanna try now?" Rinoa shook her head again. She couldn't think of anything that would be remotely interesting to shoot or draw. Seifer shrugged. "Quistis pull over, I'll take over driving so you can try some."

Quistis soon pulled over and swapped places with Seifer. He handed her the gun. She stared at it momentarily before shoving it towards Squall. "You go again, I haven't been watching." Squall shrugged and stuck his head out the sunroof again.

'Well, I can't top Seifer's… Oh well, he won't even see it so it won't matter.' Squall shrugged and let loose a lot of paint.

Rinoa and Quistis watched as the side of a building was splattered with a weird design. Squall ducked back into the car. "What you think?"

Rinoa stared at the design. 'It looks familiar…'

Quistis shrugged she had never seen it before. "What is it?"

"It's griever." Squall showed her his necklace. An embossed face of a creature resembling a lion graced it's surface.

'Oh yea! That's where I saw it before!' Rinoa thought.

Quistis turned back to catch a last glimpse of Squall's attempt at art. It looked kinda like the ring. "Look's pretty neat Squall."

Squall smiled.

Rinoa glanced at Squall. "Hey Squall, don't you have a ring like that too?"

Squall nodded as he took a ring out of his pocket. The lion-like figure was close to the same one on his necklace. He handed it out for her to inspect.

"It looks pretty cool. Where's it from?"

Squall shrugged, "Not sure, I think it's a family heirloom."

"Oh wow! I wish my family had a heirloom… Well, maybe this is." Rinoa pulled out her mother's wedding ring she kept on a silver chain around her neck.

"Can I see it?" Squall asked. Rinoa nodded and reached around her neck to unclasp the necklace. She was sliding off the ring when Squall took the whole thing, ring and chain. He looked at the ring momentarily then glanced back at Rinoa. "Turn around, I'll put it back on you."

Rinoa shrugged and shuffled in her seat so her back was towards Squall. She felt him place the cold metal against her neck and heard the clasp. It felt different. Rinoa looked down to hear a clinking sound. There were two rings there now, one much larger than the other. Rinoa's eyes grew wider.

"Squall!" Squall had added his ring to her chain while inspecting Rinoa's mother's wedding ring. "This is your family heirloom! I can't take it."

Squall smiled, "Why don't you keep it safe for me then."

Rinoa smiled back as they leaned together.

"Alright now, enough of the mushy stuff. Are you going to hand the gun to someone else or not?" An angry voice came from the front seats.

Squall and Rinoa turned to see the beady eyes of Seifer glaring at the two of them through the rearview mirror. They shuffled back to their respective sides of the backseat.

Squall looked around, "Who wants to go next? Rinoa? Quistis?"

Rinoa shook her head again. She still couldn't think of anything to do, especially after Squall's Griever drawing. Quistis also shook her head. Squall sighed.

Seifer noticed nobody was shooting. "Come on ladies! You gotta shoot at least once!"

Quistis was the first to cave in. She took hold of the gun awkwardly, rolled down the passenger side window and randomly shot out of it before quickly rolling the window back up.

Rinoa was more interested in watching Quistis' reaction than where the paint ended up. Quistis was shaking; you would have thought she was the victim of a murder attempt, not the culprit of a successful misdemeanor.

"Uh Quistis, you shot a little boy." Squall mumbled.

Quistis instantly turned around. "What? Oh my Hyne! I didn't mean to! I swear!" Rinoa had turned around to try to stare out the back window for signs of panic.

Squall burst out laughing. "Don't worry it was just a mannequin!"

Quistis glared at him and pointed the gun at Squall. "Watch it or I'll shoot you! Remember, I have the paintball gun!"

Squall didn't stop laughing and Quistis pulled the trigger.

Click! Click! Clickclickclickclickclick!

Quistis glared at the gun. "Why's it not shooting?"

"It's out." Squall kept laughing as Quistis looked up surprised and slightly embarrassed.

Rinoa took one glance at her friend and burst up laughing as well. Where Quistis' first attempt at shooting something wasn't interesting, her second attempt was hilarious, mainly because it didn't work.

"Oh shut up Rinoa! I don't see you shooting anything!" Quistis huffed as she threw the gun at Squall and turned to face forward in her seat. Purposely ignoring the backseat couple that was still laughing at her.

Seifer finally broke them out of their revelry. "Hey you two! Shut up and reload it! We're coming up on some sort of expensive house here. I say we teach their rich ass a lesson!" Seifer didn't seem to care that he knew that both Quistis and Squall were 'rich asses'. He didn't know about Rinoa.

Rinoa glanced around her. It looked awfully familiar. Quistis was also glancing around. She recognized the place too. "Uh Seifer, I don't…"

"I'll do it!" Rinoa would have jumped out of her seat if she didn't still have a seatbelt on. That shut Quistis up quickly. She stared at her suddenly eager friend.

Squall shrugged and refilled the paintball gun, this time with a single color. Blue.

Rinoa stuck her head out of the sunroof, didn't bother looking around for safety concerns, and started blasting everything and anything. The three inside the car watched the devastation unfold. They were slightly scared of the cheerful girl in light blue standing with her head out the sunroof.

Rinoa didn't stop shooting until the gun was empty again. By now the group had all but past the expensive mansion. She sat back down and handed the gun to Squall. A wide smile graced her face. She looked around. Quistis and Squall hadn't moved they were just staring at her, Seifer was staring at her through the rearview mirror. She glanced between all the eyes on her. "What?"

Squall inspected the gun. "You used it all in one go."

Rinoa shrugged. "I had a lot to shoot."

Seifer nodded, "So we see."

Rinoa looked back at her handy work. There wasn't anything that escaped her sights. The trees, the lawn, the limo, the sports cars, the walls, the security cameras, the wrought-iron gate, even the news van. 'Wait… News van?'

Rinoa did a double take. There it was. Channel 5 News. Rinoa hoped they didn't record her. She was up there for quite a long time ensuring she hit everything. Rinoa shrugged, 'Oh well, too late to do anything now.'

Her three friends didn't comment on her massacre of the property. They just shook their heads and watched as Seifer drove. Squall picked up a new phone before returning to the apartment. Rinoa was delighted; she quickly added her own number along with her picture and ringtone. She smiled evilly as she also set Squall's background.

* * *

Rinoa returned to the Caraway Mansion late. She couldn't make out the damage she had caused to her own home but sure felt giddy knowing she had done it. It felt so good to stick one to Caraway.

She entered the mansion. It was pretty late. She didn't expect anyone to be up to greet her. She almost ran back out when she saw who was there.

"RINOA!" A very angry Caraway grabbed her arm before she could turn and run back out.

"Ow! Lemme go!" Rinoa screamed.

"Not until you give me your reason for this!" The man dragged her into his study and turned on the television. On it was a reporter with a background video of a sedan passing by with a raven-haired girl shooting blue paintballs at something off in the distance.

Rinoa groaned. 'Stupid snoopy reporters!' The reporter was describing what happened.

"…and it has been confirmed that the culprit is none other than the general's daughter, Rinoa Caraway. Reasons for this act of misconduct is still uncertain as…"

The camera swung around to show what had been defaced by the paint. It showed the Caraway Mansion, bathed in blue. It was everywhere.

"…the target was none other than her own home. General Caraway, the owner of the mansion, said no charges would be brought to the authorities. All attempts to contact Ms. Caraway have thus far failed. We'll keep you up to date as we get more information."

The screen faded to black.

"Well? What was your reason?" Caraway grumbled. He was still gripping Rinoa's arm tightly.

"Um, I hate you." Rinoa smiled innocently at the obviously pissed off Caraway.

This only made him frown more. "I should really press charges against you."

"You wouldn't dare do that dear father," Rinoa drawled sarcastically. "You wouldn't want the President of Esthar's Son hearing that his future wife is a convict. What would happen to your glorious marriage proposition? What would happen to YOUR reputation?"

Caraway remained silent; he could only scowl. Rinoa knew him too well.

Rinoa smirked as she felt his grip on her arm lighten. She yanked her arm away from him and stormed up the stairs to her room. 'Never thought that arranged marriage would come in handy.'

Rinoa plopped down on her bed and pulled out her phone. She dialed the same number she dialed the last 100 times.

* * *

"Hello?" Squall picked up the phone while tying a towel around him. He had just come out of the shower.

"HEY SQUALL!"

* * *

"Uh hi Rin. Didn't we just talk like 10 minutes ago?"

Rinoa sighed. 'Boys! They don't know what it's like to just have something that you have to tell the world!' Rinoa got off her bed to lock her door so Caraway couldn't interrupt her. "I have great news! I couldn't wait until tomorrow to tell you!"

* * *

"Uh okay." Squall mumbled as he wedged his phone between his ear and shoulder while he began dressing for bed. 'This is probably going to take a while'

"Okay well remember the house I shot?"

* * *

"Yes."

"Well, do you know whose house that was?" Rinoa asked cheerfully.

* * *

"Uh, not really." Squall was only half paying attention as he tried to put on his boxers while keeping the phone pressed to his ear.

"It was mine." Squall fell over.

* * *

"Oof."

"Squall?" Rinoa was worried from the sound that came through the phone. "Squall are you okay?"

* * *

Squall groaned, slipped on his boxers and then retrieved his phone. "Yea? Sorry, I was getting dressed."

He heard giggling on the other end.

* * *

"So you're naked?" Rinoa asked in an innocent voice. "You should use your new camera and send me the picture."

Rinoa grinned. 'I would so put that as his caller ID!'

* * *

"Hah, very funny. I'm dressed now." Squall mumbled turning slightly red at the thought.

He thought her heard Rinoa sigh through the phone. He decided to hurry up the conversation, "So what were you saying about that house and your house?"

* * *

"They're the same house. I painted my own house." Rinoa was giggling hysterically.

"Why'd you do that?"

* * *

"Remember that meanie at the birthday party?"

Squall thought hard. 'Meanie? The only other person we talked to was… her father.'

"You mean your father?"

* * *

"Don't call him that! This house is Caraway's so I just shot up his house!" Rinoa exclaimed excitedly. "And you want to know what is even better?"

"What?"

* * *

Squall couldn't imagine what could be better. 'Or was it worse?'

"There was a news crew here and they caught me on video blasting away at the property!"

Squall's eyes widened. 'Much worse, definitely much worse.'

* * *

"Rinoa! That isn't 'good'. You could get arrested or something!"

Rinoa laughed. "Caraway would never dare to arrest me. It would look so bad on him. He's more likely to pay the news station to apologize for mistaking it for me in the video. To him, his reputation is everything."

* * *

Squall found himself nodding, 'That's just like Laguna. An imbecile trying to force his ideals on me. Claiming that he knows what I want, what I should do, and trying to pressure me by saying it's my reputation.'

Rinoa's voice came through the phone, "Uh, Squall? You still there?"

* * *

"Oh sorry Rin, I kinda got lost in thought. I know what you mean though; my father is only concerned with his reputation too. I guess I can see why you're so happy, you got to embarrass your father and he can't do anything about it."

"Caraway. Not 'my father'." Rinoa corrected Squall quickly.

* * *

"Alright, Caraway. Anyway, I'm going to sleep, I'll see you tomorrow alright?" Squall was seriously having trouble keeping his eyelids open. It had been quite an eventful evening.

"Okay! Sweet dreams! I love you!" Rinoa's ever-cheerful voice echoed through the phone.

Squall smiled, she never failed to be happy. "Love you too." They both hung up at the same time.

Squall tossed his phone into the corner of his room and dove onto his bed. He had a lot on his mind. Rinoa, Laguna, Rinoa, Ellone, Rinoa, Seifer, Rinoa, Quistis, Rinoa.

'She sure was happy to stick it to her father.' Squall thought as he waited for sleep to take him. 'She would risk her own reputation as long as it would hurt her father's. She would risk her own reputation, both public and legal, just to have a fun time with me. She's definitely better than whatever stuck-up bitch Laguna found.'


	9. Tour the World

Uploaded: 2009.11.07 (This is the longest chapter, I wanted to write more about each location as well as their time in between but it's already about 50% longer than the average and I didn't want to split it into multiple parts.)

Disclaimer: Whatever

Tour the World

* * *

"You two will **tour the world **together!"

"I don't WANT to tour the world with him!" Rinoa replied angrily.

"Then who would you want to tour it with? That boy you were making out with at MY birthday party?" Caraway was just about through with his daughter's attitude.

"Yes! That's exactly who I want to tour the world with!" Rinoa replied indignantly.

"Well that's too bad! You'll be vacationing with President Loire's son! You leave tomorrow to go to Esthar!" Caraway ended the conversation by storming out of Rinoa's room, slamming the door shut, and letting the loud click of a lock echo throughout the mansion.

Rinoa glared at where he had stood moments before. She approached her window to again escape to the safety of her true love.

* * *

"What are you talking about? No I won't come back just to go on a vacation!" Squall screamed angrily into his phone.

"Vacation? That sounds like fun." Seifer had eavesdropped onto Squall's conversation.

Squall ignored him as he listened to Ellone on the other end. "Please Squall! This will look so bad if you don't show up! It's already been set! The girl is coming all the way over here tomorrow and you'll leave the day after! I really like this girl."

"No!" Squall yelled again before hurling the phone against the far wall. Like the last time, it shattered into many pieces.

Seifer glanced from Squall to his ruined phone. "One word; Anger Management."

Squall glared at Seifer, "That's two."

Seifer glared back, "Fine, two words; Fuck you."

* * *

Rinoa was worried; Squall hadn't answered his phone.

She called Selphie to see if she knew anything.

* * *

"Hello?"

"Selphie! It's me!"

* * *

"I'm sorry I don't know anyone named 'It's me', I think you have the wrong number. Thank you, call again, goodbye." Selphie's cheerful voice came through the receiver.

Rinoa stared at her phone. 'That was weird.' She dialed Irvine's number.

* * *

"Hello?"

"Irvine! It's me!"

* * *

Rinoa heard Selphie's voice faintly, "Irvy! Who is it?"

Rinoa heard Irvine's voice reply, "I don't know, they said 'It's me'."

Rinoa heard Selphie's voice, "Hey! That weirdo just called me too!"

Rinoa was tired of this. They were either joking or brain dead, either way she didn't have time for it. "IDIOTS! It's me! RINOA! Your friend!"

* * *

Irvine and Selphie looked at each other. "It's Rinoa."

Selphie grabbed the phone from Irvine. "HI RINNY!"

* * *

Rinoa quickly pulled the phone away from her ear to avoid going deaf. 'Maybe it was better when they didn't know it was me.'

She placed the phone back when Selphie's squeal finally ended, "Hey Selphie, can you get ahold of Squall? My phone can't seem to connect."

* * *

Selphie pulled her own phone out of her pocket while she spoke into Irvine's, "I'll check."

She dialed Squall's number. No connection.

"Nope."

* * *

Rinoa sighed, "Okay thanks anyway Selphie."

Rinoa hung up and parked her car in the large parking garage for Squall's apartment. She hoped he was alright.

* * *

"Seriously though, what am I going to do? I don't want to piss off Ellone!" Squall was discussing his problems with Seifer.

"She knows about you and Rinoa right?" Seifer was seated on one of their many sofa sets watching one of their many plasma televisions.

"Sorta, she knows I'm seeing someone here but not who."

"Just tell her you already have plans. Major plans that can't be changed." Seifer smiled at his idea.

"And what major plans could that be? I doubt she'd say going clubbing tonight would count as 'major plans'." Squall remarked sarcastically.

"Of course not, we gotta do something big! Like… How about a cruise? Those things you have to book far in advance and cost a ton to cancel!" Seifer smiled at his brilliant idea.

"Uh that's great but. We DIDN'T book far in advance. We need this to be starting like, today if possible." Squall had found a hole in Seifer's brilliant idea.

Seifer didn't like that too much. He frowned. "Well, you got money, use it! Bribe them! Or blackmail them! I don't care. We'll have a great time!"

Squall sighed. Then he caught what pronoun Seifer used, "We? Why are you coming?"

"You can't possibly think you can go alone. Besides, I think I deserve a vacation." Seifer replied indignantly.

Knock, knock!

Seifer got off the couch, "That would be Quistis. She's going to love the idea of a vacation. How long are we going for?" Seifer asked as he reached to open the door.

"Who said we're going anywhere?" Squall asked Seifer as he opened the door.

"We're going somewhere?" It wasn't Quistis at the door but Rinoa. She stepped in looking confused.

"Puberty Boy over there is paying for us to all go on a cruise, today." Seifer smiled; there was no way Squall could weasel out of this one now.

Rinoa's eyes grew excited. "Really? That's great! That means I won't have to go with Caraway to Esthar tomorrow! Come on! What are we waiting for?" Rinoa bounced around the room, finally arriving next to Squall.

Squall frowned, 'I guess I have no choice now.' He looked at Rinoa who was grinning mischievously at him, 'What is Rinoa up to now? Wait, Rinoa is here. She just arrived here. Oh Shit! She's gonna jump on me!'

As if on cue, Rinoa jumped on Squall. Squall wasn't quite prepared and flipped backwards over the back of a couch coming to rest on the seat cushions, Rinoa sitting on his chest.

"Hi Squall! Why didn't you answer your phone?"

"Um," Squall glanced over to the corner where the remains of his phone lay. "I decided it needed a break."

"Oh, okay!" Rinoa didn't seem to catch on as she slid off Squall's chest so he could get up.

Knock, knock!

"That MUST be Quisty!" Seifer again opened the door.

He was met by a blur of yellow as Selphie shot in and tackled Rinoa onto a different sofa.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" Rinoa screamed as she was talked while Selphie was laughing hysterically the whole time.

Irvine followed his girlfriend in at a much slower pace.

Seifer glared at the two newcomers as he closed the door, "What are you doing here cowboy, messenger girl?"

Irvine glared at Seifer from under the brim of his cowboy hat but made no attempt to respond. He went over to help Selphie up.

Rinoa whispered to Selphie, "Why's he calling you 'messenger girl'?"

"Oh it's cause I told him when Squall and you were in the hospital." Selphie responded, not quite in a whisper.

"Oh." Was all Rinoa could respond with.

Knock, knock!

"I got it!" Selphie screamed as the yellow blur shot towards the door before anyone else could move.

In the doorway was none other than Quistis.

"Oh hi Selphie." She glared at Seifer who had half risen from the couch he had chosen to wait for Quistis on. "Why didn't YOU let me in? I'm not important enough to get off your lazy ass?"

The other four burst out laughing. Seifer was half looking apologetic to Quistis and half glaring at Selphie. He opted to not answer his slightly peeved girlfriend's question. "Uh yea, anyway, me and Squall are going on a vacation. Quistis, Rinoa, you're both invited to go…"

"Yippee! Vacation!" Selphie was running around the room. The yellow blur had returned.

"Uh no, I said it was me, Squall, Quistis, and Rinoa." Seifer tried to clarify. "Squall's paying." He smirked at Squall. Selphie didn't seem to notice as she continued to run around the room.

"Squall, can't you pay for just two more people?" Rinoa asked, her hands clasped to her chest, lip pouting, and puppy dog eyes prevalent.

Squall slapped his forehead. 'I never even agreed that I was going. Let alone Rinoa. Let alone Seifer and Quistis!' He groaned, 'No escaping this now.' "Fine! We'll all go. Seifer, find out how much they want to get us 6 tickets on whatever cruise is longer than a few days."

Squall's decision was greeted by much more enthusiasm by the rest of the rooms occupants. Selphie broke out of her run by tackling Irvine in a couch. Seifer spread his arms in a sign of victory before wrapping an arm around Quistis and heading to his room to make some calls. And Rinoa threw her arms around Squall thanking him for allowing Selphie and Irvine to come with them.

Squall looked down at Rinoa. 'At least someone here appreciates what I do.' He wrapped his arms around Rinoa too as they embraced and waited for Seifer's news.

Rinoa was merely thinking, 'It sure is fun to be with all of my friends, and we haven't even started our vacation yet!'

* * *

Squall closed the trunk and found his seat next to Rinoa. The six of them were taking Selphi's giant Hummer since it was the only car capable of fitting all six of them. Squall shook his head, 'Who would have thought such a tiny girl would have such a big car.'

Selphie was in the driver's seat with Irvine as her navigator. Seifer and Quistis took the middle row while Squall and Rinoa shared the back. Selphie was quite hilarious to watch drive. She looked like one of those old grannies, barely able to peer over the dashboard.

Rinoa leaned into Squall. He immediately embraced her. She smiled. 'I'm glad we're getting out of here. The Loires were nice and all but Squall isn't one of them.' Rinoa snuggled closer to Squall. 'I hope this trip will be alright, it kind of came out of the blue.' Rinoa was the only one who didn't have a luggage, The rest had packed as they waited for Seifer to tell them where they were going. Rinoa didn't dare return home.

Squall sensed Rinoa's unease. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll visit places where we can get you a whole new wardrobe."

Rinoa smiled, Squall always seemed to know how to make things right. She frowned slightly though, "Squall, I don't have much money on me."

Squall dismissed her unease, "Don't worry, I'll cover you."

Rinoa didn't like always relying on Squall, but it didn't look like she had a choice, it was either accept her boyfriend's generosity or chance Caraway forcing her to go to Esthar. She would much rather stay with Squall; she could pay him back, in more ways than one.

Rinoa sighed before asking what had been on her mind ever since Squall had moved, gained a car, bought millions of new phones, and paid for this entire spur of the moment vacation. "Squall, how can you afford this?"

Squall smiled down at Rinoa, "Don't worry about it Rin."

That answer didn't settle well with Rinoa; she pressed on. "Are you dealing drugs? That's dangerous you know!" Rinoa's mind concocted an even worse solution to the mystery, "Or… are you an assassin?"

Squall stared at her. 'Of all the possible reasons for coming into wealth, she sure has to think of the least glamorous ones first.' He shook his head at Rinoa's somewhat frightened stare, "None of those Rin." Rinoa let out a sigh of relief. "I had some money transferred to me from my home in Esthar."

Rinoa's eyes grew in comprehension. "Oh! So you're from Esthar!"

"Well yea." Squall responded confused. "Is that a problem?" He asked uncomfortably. 'Uh oh, maybe she has a grudge against Estharians.'

"No, no problem!" She smiled at him. 'If only you were your president's son! You're so kind and caring! I wouldn't hesitate a second to tour the world with the president's son then.'

* * *

The six walked onto the ship. It was huge. A luxury liner. Most eyes were directed to the towering smoke stacks. Squalls however, was not. His eyes were on Seifer.

"So, where's our rooms?"

Seifer smirked at Squall. "For you my good buddy, I got you an Rin the 2nd best suite in the ship!"

Rinoa's eyes went wide upon hearing this.

Squall didn't know whether Rinoa's change in demeanor was due to her excitement, or because unlike the other two couples, Rinoa and Squall had never actually slept together yet. 'Wait, he said 2nd best.' He turned his attention back to Seifer, "Who gets the 1st?"

"Me and Quisty of course!" Seifer scoffed at the notion that it was even questionable.

Squall glared at him.

"Seifer, maybe Squall and Rinny should get the best one, Squall IS paying for all of us." Quistis reasoned with her arrogant boyfriend.

Seifer frowned. Was everyone against him? "Fine." He handed Squall and Rinoa the keycards.

"What about me? What about me?" Selphie jumped up and down eagerly.

Seifer looked at her. "Well, you and cowboy get this room." He handed her another keycard. "It's not a suite but that's cause they didn't have anymore left. I was told it's a very big room though."

Selphie didn't seem to care; she grabbed Irvine's hand and raced to their room.

Somewhere in the ship the remaining four heard a loud "WHEEEEEEEE!" and a 'thunk' as the little ball of energy most likely dove onto the bed, somewhere.

Squall shook his head and took Rinoa to head to their suite. It was definitely a sight to see. Everything one could think of was there, balconies on both sides of the ship, large glass windows, a personal exercise room, kitchenette, their own bowling lane, a full-service bar… everything. Squall noticed there were two bedrooms too. 'Good, would hate for Rinoa to be uncomfortable with the idea of having to sleep in the same room, this way it's not forced.'

Squall turned back to see Rinoa was just staring at the place in awe. "You know," she started, "The writing on the door said this is the Estharian Presidential Suite."

"Oh really?" Squall went out to check and sure enough it did. He came back in, Rinoa was still in a daze. "So… What room do you want?"

Rinoa was broken from her daze and looked among the two options. A frown crossed her face. 'Damn, I thought we were sharing.' Rinoa randomly chose one and Squall unpacked his belongings in the other.

* * *

It didn't take long for the ship to begin its tour of the Gaia Oceans. Squall and Rinoa were joined by Selphie and Irvine as they waved to the citizens of Dollet as the ship left the harbor. Each of the four were lost in their own thoughts.

'Lookit all the itty bitty people!'

'The harbor looks so pretty from out on the ocean.'

'Hey! I think that girl winked at me! Or did she blink?'

'I wonder where Seifer and Quistis are.'

"So where does this glorious canoe take us?" Selphie's ever cheerful voice interrupted the other three's thoughts.

"It's a little big to be a canoe Selphie." Squall stated.

"Yea, it's a love boat." Irvine whispered into Selphie's ear.

She giggled and turned back towards the other two. "No seriously, where are we going?"

All eyes turned to Squall.

"What?"

"You paid for it, you have to know where we're going!" Selphie laughed.

Squall sighed and pulled out a itinerary. 'Why couldn't she just check her own itinerary?' Squall scanned it. 'Seifer did his job for once.'

"We have lunch on the boat as we head down to Centra. We'll stop there for a few hours before we make a U-turn to come back up north. We'll stop at Fisherman's Horizon sometime around lunch the following day; we need to be back on the boat by dinner. We hit, um… Esthar, the lunch after that, Trabia the lunch after that, and finally we return to Dollet the evening after. So I guess we're on a 5 day cruise."

"Awesome! Let's go get lunch!" Selphie had already darted away from the group to explore the many different dining choices presented.

"Um, I think, I better go after her." Irvine took off in the direction Selphie had.

Rinoa walked up behind Squall and hugged him around the waist, "This is wonderful Squall." Rinoa couldn't think of a more romantic thing to do than go on a cruise together, 'And I won't be there tomorrow for Caraway to drag me to Esthar to tour the world with President Loire's son!'

"Yea." Squall smiled down at Rinoa, 'And I won't be there this week for Laguna to drag me into a tour of the world with whoever he set me up with!'

* * *

"Oh my Hyne! Land!"

Squall watched as Quistis bent down on her hands and knees to kiss the ground. He turned to Seifer. "You kiss those lips too you know?"

Seifer glared at his friend.

Squall laughed and headed off to the Centra Orphanage. Seifer and Irvine came grumbling behind him. Quistis didn't seem to care as long as they were off that rocking piece of wood. Rinoa seemed happy about the idea of seeing little kids. Selphie was just happy to be alive.

The group passed many children running about. Squall noticed a group playing tag. Selphie soon joined the little kids. Rinoa laughed.

"You seem to be enjoying this Rinny." Quistis whispered.

"Of course I am! This is just like at Deling Orphanage! You know, the place I volunteer at? I volunteer there for a reason you know?" Rinoa replied.

Quistis didn't reply. Rinoa didn't try as she began to think about her favorite kids back at Deling Orphanage, 'I haven't been there in so long. I really should go visit them sometime. Maybe I'll go once we get back from our vacation, I'm sure they'd want to know about all the cool places I'll see.' Rinoa glanced over to her boyfriend to find him embracing an elderly lady. 'Little old for you don't you think?' Rinoa marched up to Squall and the lady.

Squall noticed Rinoa approaching and introduced her. "Hey Rin. This is Matron Edea Kramer. She runs this orphanage."

'Oh, that's so sweet! She spends all of her time taking care of these poor children! Wait. That doesn't give her permission to hug my boyfriend!'

Squall noticed Rinoa's smile turn into a frown. "I used to be an orphan here Rin. She's my matron."

'Oh, I guess that's okay then.' Rinoa blushed with embarrassment as what she thought was going on was really all in her head. 'I can't believe I thought Squall would cheat on me with Mrs. Kramer. She's like his mother he never had!'

Squall smiled down at Rinoa, he knew exactly what she had been thinking. "Don't be jealous Rinny, you'll have to accept I have other women in my life."

Rinoa glared at him. "Well I'll have you know I have other men in my life too!"

Squall laughed, "Like who?"

Rinoa was about to say Irvine but decided that could really be taken the wrong way. She frowned when she realized she didn't really have an answer to his question. She changed the subject, "Never mind. Hey Squall, I was thinking, when we get back to Deling, would you like to come with me to the orphanage I volunteer at?"

Squall shrugged, "Sure." He looked around, Selphie was still playing tag with the little children while the others watched the little kids gang up on the much older, but still just as immature, kid. "Hey guys, I did what I came to do, we can head back now."

"Finally!" Seifer and Irvine didn't even try to hide their unease being around the children. Quistis quietly followed them as they headed back towards the boat.

Selphie had to be torn away from her new playmates by Rinoa otherwise she would have missed the boat and been stranded there.

* * *

Squall had settled into his bed in his room of his suite. Rinoa was in the other bed in the other room in his suite. 'I never thought I'd be able to see Matron again. When Laguna came to take me away I thought that part of my life would be closed to me forever, I'm glad I was wrong.'

He heard shuffling. 'Sounds like Rin is having problems sleeping.' He smirked. 'I hope I didn't offend her by suggesting we sleep separately. Then again, I might have offended her if I suggested we sleep together.'

His door opened. Squall sat up in bed to see Rinoa clad in one of his shirts and shorts like the time they had their food fight. There weren't any shopping centers on Centra for them to buy Rinoa a new wardrobe. That would have to wait for either Fisherman's Horizon or Esthar. Definitely by Esthar.

"Rin?" Squall called out to the figure nervously standing in his barely opened doorway.

"Squall?" Rinoa inched closer to Squall and his bed.

"What's wrong?" Squall pulled her onto his bed with him.

"I know this sounds stupid but…" Rinoa halted. Squall pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back to comfort her. "But, I'm not really used to not sleeping in my own bed at the mansion… I'm scared."

Squall realized this was surprisingly one of the first times Rinoa had left her mansion for a night. At least voluntarily anyways. "It'll be alright, there's nothing to be afraid of. I'll be right here in the next room."

Rinoa looked up at Squall, "Squall, can I… can I…" She looked down at his bed and played with the ends of the sheet.

Squall nodded and Rinoa quickly dove under the covers with Squall right next to her. 'Her mood sure brightened up quickly. I wonder if she was just acting so I'd let her sleep with me.'

Either way, Squall didn't care, he preferred being able to sleep with Rinoa's head resting against his chest like at the hospital.

Rinoa smiled into Squall's chest as she drifted off to sleep. 'Comfort. That's what Squall is. The comfort I've yearned for my whole life. The comfort I lost when mom died. He can give me a comfortable life.'

* * *

"What the hell's wrong with these people?"

Squall turned to look at an agitated Seifer. He was trying to barter for something but the hippie wasn't having any of it. Squall shook his head. Rinoa was busy searching through racks of clothes. She was still wearing Squall's clothes. Squall thought the others would harass them all day because of it but they had been surprisingly quiet. 'Maybe they're being quiet because they know they all slept together too and don't want it brought up.'

Rinoa frowned at the rack of clothes. 'Everything's too bright, too colorful! One tie-dyed shirt is enough! I don't need tie-dyed everything! Honestly! Tie-dyed panties?'

Squall noticed Rinoa's frown. "Not a good color? Material?" He guessed trying to remember all the things she had looked for whenever he had gone shopping with her.

"Their color choices are horrendous! I think I'll wait until we hit Esthar." Rinoa stated before looking up at Squall, "That is, if you don't mind I borrow more of your clothes."

Squall smiled and wrapped Rinoa up in a hug. "It doesn't matter to me, you should like them. I think you picked them all." He laughed.

Rinoa did too. "You know, I was just about to compliment you on your clothing choices."

Squall laughed harder and the two commenced in a tickle fight. They were brought out of their fun by none other than Seifer.

"Dude! Can't you two keep your hands to yourselves for just a moment?"

Rinoa and Squall stopped and looked up to see Seifer with Quistis and Selphie in tow. "What do you guys want?" Rinoa asked from the ground where she had fallen during her tickle fight with Squall.

"Nothing but these bums are annoying. You know they're totally against any kind of weapons? I went into a metal shop to see if they could upgrade my gunblade and they chased me out! Peace loving hippies!" Seifer growled the last part through his teeth.

Rinoa was the first to reply, "Well I think peace is a very nice notion. Just think of all those orphans who wouldn't be orphans because their parents hadn't died in some useless war."

"Uh Rinoa, you know your dad is a general right? And you know what generals do right?" Quistis asked.

"They make things go BOOM!" Selphie exclaimed, as excited as ever.

"Yea. And that's Caraway. He's not my father. And I think he's stupid." Rinoa got up and turned away from her friends as she wrapped her arms around Squall burying her face in his shirt.

"You mean you're adopted? I never knew that." Quistis breathed a gasp of surprise.

"No, no, no." Rinoa's face was still buried in Squall's shirt. "He gave birth to me. But he's NOT my father."

Quistis, Selphie, and Seifer exchanged glances. They didn't get what Rinoa was talking about but Rinoa didn't see their expressions.

Squall sighed. "She doesn't like Caraway so she doesn't like any mention that he's related to her."

"Exactly!" Rinoa screamed from Squall's shirt.

"Oh." Came three replies. The three shared another slightly confused glance before they decided to leave the couple alone.

Rinoa glanced up at Squall, "Thanks Squall."

"No problem." Squall replied as he peeled Rinoa off him and wrapped his arm around her shoulder so they could walk.

"You know, peace is such a nice idea. I wish Galbadia could accept it." Rinoa mused.

"Yea. Then we wouldn't have so many orphanages." Squall added.

"Yea! That's exactly what I was thinking!" Rinoa smiled up at Squall. 'Oh he understands me so well! I can't picture a more beautiful person to spend forever with!'

* * *

"Squall, why are you wearing that?"

Squall turned away from the mirror. Rinoa was staring at him questioningly. He looked back at the mirror. He was covered from head to toe in a long trench coat and thick shades over his eyes.

"I dunno, just felt like it."

Rinoa let out a laugh. "Well maybe I should match you!" Rinoa walked over to Squall's closet and took out another trench coat to go over the shirt and shorts she was wearing. They all belonged to Squall. "Got anymore shades?"

Squall shrugged and reached into a dresser to pull out some aviators for Rinoa.

Rinoa laughed as she put them on. "Hey these look pretty hot! I might steal them!"

Squall smirked. "Go ahead. You ready to go? I bet the rest are bored waiting for us."

"Yes sir!" Rinoa saluted Squall as he took her other hand to lead her off the boat and into Esthar.

* * *

"Hey Squall!"

Squall turned around to face Rinoa, "Yea?"

"This is your home right? Why don't you show us around?"

"Well we don't have time to explore the whole city and I thought you needed some clothes. Especially if we're going to go spend the day at a resort in Trabia tomorrow." Squall explained.

"Oh yea!" Rinoa's eyes widened in anticipation. "You know where to shop?"

"Sure." Squall turned to their friends. "Seifer why don't you show Quistis, Selphie, and Irvine around. I'll take Rin shopping."

Seifer eyed the cowboy and bouncy brunette at his side. "You owe me big."

Squall ignored him and led Rinoa towards a bus station.

* * *

"Squall! Wait right here, I want your opinion on all of these!" Rinoa rushed into the dressing room lugging a huge pile of clothes behind her.

'Maybe it was a mistake telling her I'd pay for everything.' Squall mused to himself. 'This kind of reminds me of the first time I went shopping with her. All those black shirts.' He looked down at the one he was wearing at the moment, 'This one was one of those 100 or so.'

Squall was brought out of his thoughts by Rinoa's perky voice. "How do I look?"

Squall glanced up. He was speechless. Rinoa had shed her, well his, trench coat, shirt and shorts in favor of a full onslaught of new clothes. A baby blue duster with small white angel wings adorned the back, mostly hidden by her long black hair. She wore black tight shorts and a black shirt. Black boots finished the ensemble.

Rinoa smirked. "I take from your silence and staring that you like. Don't go away! There might be more that you like!" Rinoa disappeared back into the dressing room.

* * *

It honestly took hours for Rinoa to finish shopping. And Squall was piled with shopping bags. He didn't mind though. He got to see her in every outfit. Even the one she promised to wear to sleep with him that night. It was… Well it wasn't really much of anything.

Squall paid for Rinoa's clothes. It was a lot, to put it lightly, but Squall didn't care, money was no longer an issue for him. The two arrived at the dock before the other four. They decided to wait on the bench next to the dock to wait for them. Squall was still wearing his trench coat and shades while Rinoa had opted to use her new outfits, choosing the first one she had shown Squall.

Rinoa smiled. She liked the feel of this one. It was soft. Both where it hugged her body and when she patted herself down with her hands. Rinoa unconsciously leaned into Squall.

Squall observed Rinoa. 'She sure does know a lot about shopping. Even in another country she seems perfectly at home in a mall. I didn't even know there were that many clothing stores in that mall and I live here!' Squall placed his arms around Rinoa.

Rinoa looked up into the hidden eyes of her boyfriend. She wrinkled her nose. "Those sunglasses don't look good on you."

Squall was a little shocked at the comment. She had never criticized him before now. "And why is that?"

"Because they cover up your beautiful eyes." Rinoa reached up to remove his shades.

Squall smirked and before Rinoa could take them off he lowered his face to hers to catch her in a kiss. A long kiss. Lips met. Mouths opened. Tongues wrestled. Lights flashed.

'Lights?' Rinoa and Squall broke their kiss immediately and looked in the direction the lights seemed to have come from. A man with a camera stood nearby.

"Excuse me, what do you think you're doing?" Squall got up from the bench as he approached the man.

"Oh I'm just taking in the sights of this grand city!"

"Right, why did you take a picture of me and my girlfriend?" The man became nervous.

"Well, young love. It's just a glorious thing. I think it symbolizes the greatness of this city."

"Can I see it?" Rinoa spoke up and bounded over to the two men.

The man shrugged and showed her the photograph.

"Hmm, that's pretty good, can I have it?" Rinoa gave him her sweetest smile.

"Well… er… I kind of wanted to use it and stuff…"

"How bout I buy it offa you? I want it to go into my photo album for this vacation!" Rinoa smiled again.

"Well, okay." The man shrugged, "I'll take 100gil for it."

Squall blinked, '100 gil? Isn't that a ton for a photo?' Squall turned to the man. "Come on man, your camera isn't even worth 100 gil."

"Do you want the photo or not?"

"Ugh, fine." Squall paid the man and took the photo. Rinoa immediately snatched it from his hands.

"Thanks Squall! This is going to be great! I'll put it with those pictures Selphie took already!" Rinoa ran up the gangway onto the cruise ship. Squall shrugged and grabbed all the shopping bags before trudging along behind her.

* * *

It was night; the six had all retired to their respective rooms. Squall was waiting as Rinoa changed into her outfit. Since they had boarded the ship at Esthar, Rinoa had shown Selphie and Quistis ALL of her goodies. And they informed Irvine and Seifer. And they wouldn't let Squall hear the end of it. Oh well, he had waited long enough.

Rinoa came in. And like before when she had shown him in the dressing room, his jaw hit the floor. She was beautiful. Squall could safely say that Rinoa was beautiful and not the clothes she was wearing since she wasn't exactly wearing much.

Rinoa smiled and climbed into his bed. "You like?"

"I think I like this more." Squall pulled Rinoa into another long kiss. Lips met. Mouths opened. Tongues Wrestled. And no lights flashed.

Rinoa couldn't help smiling to herself. 'Maybe I'll send that picture to the Deling Times newspaper just to piss off Caraway. Or maybe not. It might piss off Squall.'

* * *

Squall let out a breath of chilled air. He glanced down to Rinoa who was seated next to him. Her cheeks were rosy from the cold air. She was smiling.

"I haven't skied in so long Squall!" Rinoa exclaimed as she clanked her skis together while they road the ski lift. "I don't even know if I remember how!"

"Oh I'm sure you'll do fine. This is only an intermediate slope." Squall was trying not to hit Rinoa's skis with his snowboard. It was slightly annoying to have both skiers and snowboarders on the same chairlift.

Rinoa turned behind them to watch Selphie steal one of Irvine's ski poles. Rinoa burst out laughing. "Be happy I'm not Selphie. Irvine is getting assaulted back there.

Squall turned around to see Irvine covering his head with one arm while his other blocked Selphie's playful blows with his other ski pole. Squall shook his head. "She's too energetic."

"Yea. Quistis used to complain I was energetic until we met Selphie." Rinoa laughed. "Hey Squall! Look we're at the top!"

Squall turned around and had to quickly prepare to disembark. Luckily he didn't fall getting off the chair lift. It didn't matter anyways though. He had to sit down eventually anyways to strap in his right foot.

Rinoa had stopped a little farther down the slope. "Hurry up slowpoke! I'm the one that's supposed to be lagging behind! You've done this recently! I haven't skied since… since my mom took me." Rinoa frowned slightly remembering the happy times she used to have with her mother.

Squall got up only to have Seifer collide into him, sending him back down. "Watch it Puberty Boy! I told you, you shoulda gotten Flows! Don't need to sit on your ass when you get off the lift! Just kick your foot into the right bindings, and pull up, and tada! You're flyingggggg!"

Seifer was already out of sight down the slope, he was bombing it. Squall shook his head and got up again. Rinoa had fallen over laughing when Seifer flew by. Quistis was making her way down carefully with her skis, making huge S's, obnoxiously large S's.

Irvine came by slowly. He wasn't having difficulty, he was just watching Selphie twirl around on her snowboard. She wasn't really snowboarding, just… twirling around as she practically bombed the slopes. Irvine seemed to be worried she would run into a tree since she definitely wasn't paying attention to where she was going.

Squall watched as Selphie continued to twirl. It was almost hypnotizing. The side she had pointing down the mountain constantly changed. You would have thought she should have clipped some snow and ate it hard. Right foot downhill, backside downhill, left foot downhill, frontside downhill, right foot downhill.

Rinoa called to Squall to get him out of his trance. "Selphie was born up here! She's probably the best out of all of us! Hey! Help me up!"

Squall laughed. When Rinoa fell she got her skis all tangled up. He slid down and planted his board into the side of the mountain so Rinoa could get up.

"Thanks!"

"No problem." Squall looked back down the mountain. Quistis was still making her huge S's but the rest of their group was long gone. "I think we're a tad behind."

"That's okay. As long as you're here with me I don't care where everyone else is." Rinoa smiled as she looked up at Squall. He smiled back and hugged her.

Unfortunately that caused Rinoa to lose her balance and the two went tumbling down the mountain a ways.

Quistis turned to look up hill as she finished another large S only to see a rolling ball of snow. A snowboard and two skis stuck out. Her eyes widened as the snowball consumed her too.

* * *

"Where are those three? How long can it take to get down that thing? I bombed the whole thing!" Seifer was staring back up the slope from the chairlift.

"Weeeeeeeeeeee!" Selphie exclaimed as she continued to twirl around, even on the flat surface leading up to the chairlift.

"Sefie! You're really making me dizzy here!" Irvine called out as he tried to half walk, half ski to his girlfriend.

Seifer frowned at the pair. Why was he stuck with the idiots? Then he spotted movement. A large snowball. 'Heh what type of idiot doesn't know how to stop when they fall?'

That thought was cut short though as the ball collided with Seifer. He found himself on the ground tangled up with Squall, Rinoa, and Quistis.

"Wow! That looks fun! Irvy! Let's do that!" Selphie stopped twirling immediately, grabbed Irvine's hand and pulled him towards the lift again.

Rinoa was dizzy to say the least. She looked around her. Apparently Seifer had stopped their descent as he looked to be knocked out. She glanced over to see Squall unstrapping his snowboard's right binding, probably getting ready to get on the lift again. Quistis was already heading to the lodge.

"Quisty! Where are you going?" Rinoa called out

"I've had enough of this extreme sport! I'm going to get some coffee!" Quistis called over her shoulder.

Rinoa frowned. 'I hope I didn't ruin her day.' She shrugged and looked back at Seifer. He was coming to. 'He'll be just fine." Rinoa smiled and got back up to catch up to Squall in the chairlift line.

"Well that was definitely the most interesting trip down the mountain I've ever had." Squall smiled.

"Yup me too! I can't believe you held me the entire way down!" Rinoa exclaimed.

"Yea really! I just wanted to throw you away from me." Squall joked.

Rinoa scooped up a snowball to throw at him. The two continued throwing snowballs at each other despite the other people in line's complaints.

Finally they made it back on the chairlift and Rinoa leaned against Squall. 'I'm glad I didn't tour the world with President Loire's son. It wouldn't have been as fun as this.'

* * *

**(A.N. I hope by now you've noticed how the chapters are determined and noticed that this one sort of went back over them. The story is coming to an end soon.)**


	10. Benefiting the World

Uploaded: 2009.11.08

Disclaimer: Whatever

Benefiting the World

* * *

"It'll be **benefiting the world**!"

"Who care? Nobody in the world even knows who I am!" Squall retorted angrily.

An equally angry voice met his ears. "That's because YOU didn't go on the world tour I set up last week! If you went then everyone would have known about you!"

"Whatever. I don't have time to argue with you." Squall dismissed his angry father. 'I never knew Laguna could actually yell.' Squall thought with a grin.

"Listen to me! You better be thankful your fiancé ended up not being able to make it! Otherwise you would have just made Esthar look like an incredibly bad host! Just think what they must already think of us! You didn't show up for her first visit! Squall! Are you listening to me? Squall? Squall?"

Squall frowned at the phone and silenced the connection. He really didn't have time for this. Rinoa had convinced him to accompany her to visit the Deling Orphanage and he she should be arriving any moment.

Knock, knock!

Squall hurried over to the door to reveal Rinoa.

"SQUALL!"

The blue bundle of joy leaped into Squall's arms.

"Did you miss me?"

Squall was about to answer when Rinoa took his lips in hers. Squall deepened the kiss for a few moments before pulling away.

"What do you think?"

Rinoa smiled as Squall lowered her safely to the floor. She glanced up at Squall, "Ready to go?"

Squall nodded as they walked out to the parking garage together. Fingers intertwined.

* * *

"You know Squall," Rinoa was sitting in Squall's car and glancing around at all the cool gadgets, "I think the children are going to be more interested in your car than me coming to visit."

Squall groaned. "Let's keep the car hidden then. I don't want them messing it up."

Rinoa smirked, "Serves you right to buy such an expensive car! Maybe we should have taken my coupe. I let the children play in it. As long as they don't have the key."

"We'll be sure to do that next time." Squall smirked as Rinoa took his free hand in hers.

Rinoa glanced around. 'So much has changed since I came this way last. I hope they remember me.'

The Orphanage came into view. It was easy to spot. A lone building fenced in along with a small jungle gym. Squall couldn't help but compare it to his Centra Orphanage. 'It's so much smaller, so much more restrictive.' Squall thought a little more. 'So much safer.'

Squall parked his car and followed Rinoa into the building.

* * *

"Matron Ma!" Rinoa ran to an elderly lady in the kitchen. Squall dully noted she ran almost as fast as she did whenever she was about to tackle him. 'I hope she doesn't plan to tackle the old lady.'

Luckily Rinoa merely ran up to hug her. The old lady turned with a caring smile and embraced Rinoa back. "My, my! If it isn't Rinoa, back after what, a month? You know the children kept asking me when you would come back to play with them."

Rinoa smiled. Obviously she as proud that the children liked her. "Oh I hope I didn't hurt their feelings. I was just busy with other things."

"Oh yes, I assumed so. They will be very eager to see you though. Especially with the news we just received."

Rinoa tilted her head, "What news?"

"Oh I guess you didn't know it's became public news already. I must say congratulations though! Your father announced your wedding and invited all of Deling to attend! The children begged me to let them go. They so wanted to see you on what I'm sure will be the happiest day of your life!"

Rinoa glanced back at Squall. 'Oh shit, we forgot to find a way to get out of that!' She turned back to Matron Ma. She had mistaken Rinoa's nervous glance to be one of anticipation instead of dread.

"Oh don't look so embarrassed! It's perfectly normal to be happy to get married! Now come here, you haven't introduced me to your friend."

Rinoa didn't really know what to say. "Um, Matron. This is Squall Leonhart. Squall, this is Matron Ma Dincht."

Matron Ma looked at the boy standing awkwardly off to the side. "Ah I see! Welcome to my little orphanage Squall. I'm sure you're a good friend of Rinoa. She's so friendly." Matron Ma smiled at Squall.

At the mention of the last name Squall thought to ask. "Um would you happen to be related to Zell Dincht? The owner of Zell's Autoshop?"

Ma Dincht's face turned to one of surprise. "Why yes! I'm his foster mother. After he grew up I really felt the urge to help more children so I set up this orphanage. How do you know him?"

"Oh he gave me a job when I first moved here."

"Ah yes, Zell has a kind heart! He's a really good boy. I hope he eventually settles down sometime. Preferably before I die."

"Oh don't say that Matron!" Rinoa exclaimed as she walked up to Ma and Squall. "I'm sure you'll get to see your son married. You'll even get to see your grandchildren!"

Ma smiled at Rinoa. "Oh I hope so. But, I'm sure glad I'll get to see you married at least Rinoa. You've been like the daughter I never had. I'm sure you'll make your husband proud. You're so good with the children."

Rinoa frowned. 'This will be a shock.' Rinoa looked up at Ma's smiling face, 'This will be hard.' She cleared her throat, "Um, Matron, I'm not getting married."

Matron's face again took on one of surprise. "What do you mean? It was printed in the newspapers and on both the radio and television. Your own father was the one who submitted it."

Rinoa glanced away from Ma. "Um, that is just what Caraway wants. He set me up in an arranged marriage. But I don't even know who he set me up with! I can't marry someone without loving them."

"Oh I see." Ma's mood seemed to have diminished to depression. "But, Rinoa, you say you haven't even met him, how do you know that you won't love him?"

Rinoa shook her head, "Because I know who I love." She turned to Squall and took his hand in hers, "This is my true love. Squall."

"Oh, okay." Ma took a deep breath, "Well, I agree you should marry for love and since you already found yours I supposed you shouldn't go through with this marriage that your father concocted."

"Thanks for understanding Matron." Rinoa said sweetly.

Ma turned to Squall. "And you. If you ever break her heart I will beat your brains out with this rolling pin!" Ma held up a rolling pin caked with flour. "Even if I need someone to wheel me in a wheelchair!"

Squall had to hold back his own laughter. The image of an old lady in a wheelchair frantically rolling after him with a rolling pin raised was almost too much to contain. Squall managed though. "You don't have to worry Mrs. Dincht, I love Rinoa just as much as she loves me and we plan to find a way out of her arranged marriage."

"Good." Ma simply said before turning back to what she had been doing before the couple arrived. "The children are in the back playing, you might have to break the news to them Rinoa. I'm not sure if they'll understand. They were really excited about the idea of a wedding. Especially your wedding."

Rinoa nodded, not that Ma was watching her for the gesture, and took Squall's hand to lead him out the back to where the children awaited them.

* * *

The children were playing. They were running around, climbing the play set, and simply enjoying childhood. A feeling of nostalgia overcame Squall. 'I remember when I used to feel like this. The Orphanage. I wonder if any of them have a living father out there. A living father too childish to take responsibility for their posterity.' Squall thought bitterly.

Rinoa was absorbed in her own world. 'Oh my Hyne! There's Jimmy and Kelly!' She watched as a boy and girl chased each other around in circles. 'And look how much Sally, Christopher and Timmy grew!' Rinoa turned her attention to the only child without a playmate. He stood silently on the porch, arms folded, and head down. 'He's new. I wonder what his name is.'

Rinoa walked over to the new boy. He had brown hair. "Hey." Rinoa touched him lightly on the shoulder to inform him of her presence. The boy looked up. Blue eyes. 'He's like Squall!' Rinoa quickly buried that thought, 'I can't compare every blue eyed brown haired guy to Squall.'

Rinoa smiled, the boy did not. "Hi, what's your name?"

He turned away.

Rinoa tried again, "I'm sorry. My name is Rinoa. Do you want to play something?"

The boy shook his head.

"Well, do you mind if I sit here and talk to you? You don't have to talk back if you don't want."

The boy shrugged.

"Alright." Rinoa happily took a seat next to the boy. "So I come here often. Well, not within the last month. You came here sometime during that time didn't you?"

The boy didn't answer.

"Oh right, I told you that you didn't have to talk. I forgot." Rinoa smiled at her mistake. The boy was at least looking at her now. "So, I love coming here and playing with you kids. I was a lot like you, you know."

Rinoa seemed to have the boy's attention now.

"My mother died when I was real little. I know what it's like to feel alone. But you need to remember that you're not alone. You'll find someone eventually that will sweep you off your feet. Even if you're not even expecting it. Even if you don't even want it to happen. It will."

The boy blinked. Rinoa could almost see his brain comprehending what she was telling him.

"You know, even though the other kids are all playing, they are really just as alone as you are. They would love it if you played with them too. Trust me, it hurts to keep it all inside. It hurts to be alone."

"Tempest."

"Excuse me?" Rinoa was taken aback when the little boy said something. 'His voice is soothing. Like Squall's. Maybe, someday, he'll open up and be more like Squall."

"My name."

Rinoa smiled in understanding, "Why, it's nice to meet you Tempest. Did you know I know someone very similar to you?"

Tempest shook his head.

Rinoa kept smiling but inside she frowned slightly. 'Damn he's back to not talking.' Rinoa glanced off in the distance to see Squall was still watching the rest of the children play. "Wait right here Tempest, I'll introduce you to my… friend."

Tempest shrugged and Rinoa darted off to bring Squall.

* * *

Squall wasn't really having fun but he wasn't bored either. He was merely watching the little kids play. It brought back memories. Jimmy and Kelly were riding brooms, both with cowboy hats. Their hands were shaped like a pistol. They were shooting each other, at point blank, but Squall noted with amusement that neither one ever claimed to be hit.

The other group, Squall wasn't sure if they were playing as nicely together. Sally was slapping Christopher while he laughed at Timmy who seemed to be teary eyed in the corner of the play place. He heard Christopher calling the smaller cowering boy 'Chicken-wuss'. Squall shook his head. 'Maybe I should go tell Matron Ma.'

Squall turned around to head back and inform an elder only to be tackled to the ground by Rinoa. He looked up after he was able to remember where he was.

Rinoa was smiling. Grinning widely even. "Trade ya places! Go say 'hi' to Tempest over there. He looks a lot like you."

Squall glanced over at the sulking 5-year-old. "Alright, but you might want to inform Ma Dincht about that group of three in the corner. It looks like the little boy is being picked on." Squall waved towards Sally, Christopher, and Timmy.

Rinoa watched and frowned. "Christopher is always picking on the other kids. The only one he doesn't pick on is Sally. She's always defending the others against him. Maybe because they are the two oldest in the group." She got off her boyfriend and headed to the three children.

Squall dusted himself off and headed towards the loner.

* * *

"Christopher Yasmla! Don't you think you've picked on poor Timmy Thcnid enough?" Rinoa had her hands on her hips as she glowered down on the little bully.

All three of the children immediately stopped what they were doing and looked up at Rinoa. Their faces brightened immediately.

"Matwon Rinoa!" They all shouted, rose to their feet and tackled Rinoa to the ground.

Rinoa laughed while trying to sound offended, "Hey! I'm not THAT old yet! I'm just Rinoa!"

* * *

Squall took a seat next to the brown haired boy. "So I was told you look like me. I'm Squall."

Tempest turned to see a man. A man just like himself. Brown hair, blue eyes. He didn't say anything.

Squall noticed his silence. "You know, I used to be even more like you. I used to be an orphan too."

Tempest remained quiet.

* * *

Rinoa had just begun to stand up when a ball of yellow energy struck her causing her to fall back down. "Matwon Rinny!"

Rinoa laughed at the brown-haired girl in a yellow dress. "Hi Kelly, um, can I get up?" She looked at the other 4 children who had all piled on top of her as soon as Kelly tackled her to the ground again.

Jimmy shook his head, his long brown hair held in a ponytail shook from underneath his cowboy hat. "Nu uh. You have to tell us about your wedding!"

Rinoa silently groaned.

* * *

'Damn this kid doesn't know how to hold a conversation.' Squall complained to himself. He glanced over at Rinoa to see her buried underneath the other 5 children. He didn't envy her. Squall turned his attention back to Tempest who was staring at his shoes. "You know, I bet you're pretty lonely. I was too. I bet you feel like someone deserted you. Someone you depended on."

Tempest's eyes raised from his shoes to Squall's face.

"I used to depend on someone. Her name was Ellone. She was my sister. Well, not really my sister but she looked after me."

Squall had Tempest's full attention now.

* * *

"Um, well I don't really have anything to say about the wedding." Rinoa didn't know how to tell them there would be no wedding.

"Okay! We will tell you!" Kelly screamed excitedly. Rinoa wasn't sure if she was more surprised in her eagerness to talk about Rinoa's wedding, or that the little girl jumped up and down when she said that. On Rinoa's stomach.

"Oof… Oh… Kay." Rinoa gasped out.

"I heard you're marrying a great guy!" Sally exclaimed dreamily as she took hold of Rinoa's hand, hugging it. "I heard he's a prince!"

* * *

Squall looked at Tempest. "Ellone and I were sent to an orphanage when my mother died."

Tempest remained silent.

Squall continued, "One day Ellone was adopted by a family. I remember wishing she'd return. I didn't want to play with the other kids. I just wanted my Sis back."

Tempest looked away. Something had struck a cord.

* * *

"He is not a prince!" Christopher exclaimed loudly as he sat on Rinoa's leg as if it were a downed tree trunk. "He is a knight! A magic lady's knight!"

"There is no such thing as a magic lady dummy!" Timmy exclaimed.

"Shut up Chicken-wuss!" Christopher shouted back before getting off Rinoa's leg and tackling Timmy to the ground.

"Boys! Christopher! Stop that!" Rinoa shouted, she was still being pinned down by Kelly, Sally, and Jimmy. But Rinoa's mind wasn't on the fight. 'He's NOT a prince. He's not a knight. He's a jerk. He's a rude jerk. He's not Squall! Squall is my knight. Squall is my prince!'

* * *

"Ellone never did come back." Squall took a deep breath, the memory was still quite strong for him. "I felt alone. I felt abandoned."

Tempest searched his own feelings. Was this what he felt?

* * *

"I heard he is fun to be around! I bet he would play tag with us!" Kelly shouted.

"Yea! And Monopoly! Strip Monopoly!" Jimmy chimed in.

Rinoa stared at him, temporarily forgetting the scuffle occurring between Christopher and Timmy. "Jimmy Saennik! You shouldn't be thinking of games like that!" Rinoa thought back on her own experience. 'Squall, food tag. Squall, Monopoly. Squall, Strip Monopoly. I bet whoever I was to marry would have told me I was stupid.'

* * *

"I tried to be strong. I wanted to be strong enough to survive on my own."

Tempest thought some more. Was this what he was trying to do?

* * *

"He IS a knight!" Christopher exclaimed. He had stopped picking on Timmy for a moment. "Matwon twold me he was kind and caring! Just like her stowies of the magic lady knights!"

Rinoa couldn't really move her arms. One being clasped by Sally, the other being sat on by Jimmy. Otherwise she would have clasped her head. 'No! NO! He is NOT kind and caring! Squall is kind and caring! Anyone Caraway would pick would be the exact opposite of kind and caring!'

* * *

"I wanted to block out everyone else. I wanted to depend on only myself."

Tempest looked within himself. Was this his goal?

* * *

"Matron said he's pretty!" Sally released Rinoa's hand and clasped her own to her chest while fluttering her eyelids like in the movies.

"He is NOT pretty! He is tough! He a rawrrior!" Timmy cried out from his position near Rinoa's head.

Rinoa found that he was actually sitting on a lot of her hair too. 'No! President Loire's son is NOT handsome! Squall is! They're just little kids! They believe whatever they are told and Caraway fed them lies!'

* * *

"I closed myself off from the world. I created a shell. Nobody could break in."

Tempest thought. Did he encase himself in a shell?

* * *

"He is a prince!" Sally cried out again. "Matron told me herself! He owns that big city, Esper!"

Rinoa was impressed to say the least. Sally was the only one in the orphanage with near perfect speech, despite mistaking Esthar for Esper.

"So he is famous!" Jimmy cried out. "Matwon Rinoa! You is marrying a famous man! That make you famous too!"

Rinoa wasn't even trying to hide her frown now. 'No! I will not marry for fame! Only Caraway is interested in his reputation!'

* * *

"I couldn't break out."

Tempest spoke up for the first time. "What happened?"

Squall looked at Tempest in surprise. He had forgotten he was actually talking to someone. He felt like he was talking to a wall. "Um, I hid. For a long time. So much that when my father eventually found me at the orphanage, when I was 17-years-old, he felt it necessary to force me to open up. He forced me to 'make friends'. He forced me to 'be happy'. He's forcing me to marry."

Tempest didn't know what to say.

Squall turned to the little boy. This was obviously too complicated for him. Squall smiled at him. "Just remember, you're not alone. You have 5 good friends out there." Squall pointed to the children still piled on top of Rinoa. "Why don't you go and have fun with them? Don't do what I did."

Tempest nodded, got up and turned to run off only to turn back. He walked up to Squall and hugged him. "Thank you." With that he raced off to the others.

* * *

"He could take you all over the world! Think of how much money he has! I want to see the world!" Kelly was lost in thought as she rocked back and forth on Rinoa's stomach.

Rinoa could feel tears begging to be released. 'No, this isn't supposed to happen. That man is a monster! He was chosen by Caraway. He can't be any of those things! Caraway, how could you poison these young minds?'

"Hi."

Rinoa looked up to see Tempest. 'He spoke!'

Tempest looked to the ground embarrassed, hands folded behind his back as he rubbed his shoe into the dirt. "You guys want to play?"

Kelly was the first to respond, "Okay!" She jumped off Rinoa's stomach and tagged Tempest. "You It!" The yellow ball of energy darted away with the others chasing after her.

Rinoa thanked Hyne. She was finally able to breathe.

* * *

Rinoa sat in the passenger seat of Squall's car. She didn't notice the fancy gadgets or the ultra smooth ride across town. She merely thought. Thought of something other than what she wanted for once.

'I don't want to marry him. But I don't want to hurt the children.'

Rinoa watched the setting sun turn the horizon into a beautiful painting of colors.

'The children think this marriage will be beautiful. They are so full of hope and joy. Their lives have been nothing but trouble.'

The city streets were eerily quiet. Such a stark contrast from moments earlier where she watched the children play tag with their newest friend, Tempest.

'Will the world feel like this, bleak, desolate, if I reject President Loire's son?'

The car drove by the building Rinoa's father went to everyday, sometimes every night too. The Hexagon.

'Will more children be added to the orphanage because I didn't marry to seal the alliance with Esthar? Will we break out into a another world war?'

The car drove by the army training grounds. Young men were lined up training. Training to fight. Fighting to kill.

'If I refuse to marry, will Irvine someday have to fight Seifer in a Galbadia-Esthar war? Will Seifer and Squall choose to fight for Galbadia or Esthar? What if any of them don't come back? Will Selphie and Quistis blame me? I could have stopped the war. By just marrying his son…'

* * *

The car pulled up to Squall's apartment building. Rinoa had made up her mind.

Both Squall and Rinoa got out of the car and hugged each other. Squall thought it was a normal hug, Rinoa thought it was her last.

Squall leaned in and captured Rinoa's lips.

Rinoa felt horrible. She knew what she had to do. She pulled away.

"Squall," Rinoa got his attention, "I… I've been thinking."

"About what?" Squall asked curiously.

"I… I don't think I can do this anymore." Rinoa quickly blurted out. 'There it's done.'

Squall stared at Rinoa briefly. "Rinoa, I'm sure we can make it work. It doesn't matter if your father has already planned the wedding. It doesn't matter if he has already sent out invitations."

The first sign of trouble came when Rinoa didn't correct Squall for calling Caraway her father. She merely shook her head. "You don't understand Squall! Those children in the orphanage need me to do this."

"Rinoa…"

"No Squall. They need me to! This is their only sign that the world isn't the cruel thing they have grown up to believe. You should have seen how happy they were to talk to me about the wedding. About the marriage. You would have thought it was their own. Did you know they are looking forward to attending Squall? Did you know they think it's the most important event that has ever taken place in their short lives? More important than their birthdays? More important than Christmas? I can't disappoint them! I have to give them hope."

"Rinoa…"

"No! Listen to me! If I don't do this. People could die! Mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters! I might be responsible for creating more children without parents! More... More orphans!" Rinoa had a hard time actually saying the word. She hated making children without parents feel different, feel less important. "I don't want to be responsible for that! Just think of all those poor children! They'll hate me! Squall, you were one; you know what it's like to not know who your parents were. I couldn't live with myself if I were to cause that to happen to anybody. Remember Tempest? He was so alone."

"Rinoa…"

"No! If I do this, our generation won't be drafted into a war. We won't have any more wars! This arranged marriage is Caraway's way to solidify an alliance. It will protect Galbadia. I can protect the entire country by just agreeing to this marriage! I can protect my friends! It will ensure Irvine and Seifer never have to fight in a war; never have to die in a war! It will ensure YOU will never have to fight in a war!"

"Rinoa…"

"What if you died Squall? How do you think I would feel knowing I could have prevented it? I would rather die to a life without love than live in one where I killed my true love! Please don't make this any harder for me Squall. This has to end."

"Rinoa…"

"Right now!" Rinoa tore away from Squall's grasp and dove into her coupe and sped away down the road, into the sunset.

The sun set.

'What alliance?' Squall stood there dumbfounded, in the darkness. 'Does she really think she'll be benefiting the world by this marriage? Does she really think being with me would harm it?'


	11. Mother Would Think

Uploaded: 2009.11.10 (These next 3 chapters sort of overlap. This one following Rinoa. Two chapters after this, unless the last one ends up being too long.)

Disclaimer: Whatever

**Warning: Some parts are disturbing**

Mother Would Think

* * *

"What do you think your **mother would think**?"

"Mother would love me no matter what I chose!" Rinoa screamed.

"Really? She would want you to throw your life away with some man who doesn't even love you?" The shadowy figure asked in a masculine voice.

"Mother knows this is the right thing to do! She wouldn't want more people to grow up without their parents!"

"So I see. You have made a mockery of everything your mother stood for."

"No I haven't! I don't want to cause people to die! Mother wouldn't want people to die! She would want me to be responsible! To be caring!" Rinoa pleaded.

The shadowy figure's voice changed. "No, your mother would want you to be loved!" It changed to that of Julia's.

* * *

Rinoa sat up breathing hard.

'It was only a nightmare.'

Rinoa tried to go back to sleep. She had just broken up with Squall that evening. This was her fifth nightmare since trying to go to sleep that evening.

'I wonder if he hates me now.'

Rinoa stared up into the darkness.

'What time is it anyway?'

She turned to her clock. 3:25 am.

'Why can't I sleep? I'm doing the right thing aren't I?'

Rinoa turned in her bed.

'I'm saving people. I'm protecting my friends. I'm protecting the one I love.'

Rinoa tossed in her bed.

'I can bring Galbadia and Esthar together. I don't need love. I know what its like. It's… intoxicating. It's addicting. It's…'

Rinoa rolled over in her bed.

'No, it's not necessary. If I can survive a loveless marriage then the people of both Galbadia and Esthar will be able to live in peace. The whole world will live in peace.'

Rinoa glanced at her clock. 3:26 am. The blinking lights mocked her.

'If I'm doing the right thing, then why can't I sleep? I should be calm. I should be happy.'

Rinoa shifted underneath the covers.

'And, why do I have nightmares? Why does it first sound like Squall accusing me, but finishes sounding like my mother reprimanding me?'

Rinoa threw the covers off.

'Why is doing the right thing causing me so much pain?'

Rinoa got up. She walked to her nightstand where her phone lay. She picked it up. Flipped it open.

'35 missed calls.'

Rinoa thought back.

'I just cleared these before I went to sleep like 3 hours ago.'

Rinoa clicked a few buttons.

'All from Squall.'

Rinoa clicked a few more.

'35 voice messages.'

Rinoa's finger hovered over the call button. Did she really want to hear his voice? Did she really want his voice to comfort her? Did she really want his voice to dissolve her resolve, make her rethink everything she had accomplished?

Rinoa's finger moved.

"Deleting 30-5 voice messages." Came the mechanical voice through her phone.

'No, I can't lose my resolve. I already told Caraway I would go through with it.'

Rinoa remembered how he had reacted to the news. Or rather, didn't react. He didn't celebrate. He didn't assure Rinoa she was doing the right thing. He didn't even smile at her. He didn't make any motion that he was happy, proud, or relieved in her decision.

Caraway had simply nodded and dismissed her.

It made Rinoa feel like she never had a choice in the matter.

Rinoa set her phone back on her nightstand and climbed back into bed. She pulled the covers up to her chin and stole a glance at the clock. 3:30 am.

* * *

"Look at the poor baby!" came a gloating voice.

'That's not Squall or mom.'

"Come here bitch! You're just like your mother! Ungrateful! Unfaithful! Unlovable! And most of all, USELESS!"

'Mom was none of those things! Wait, why can't I speak?'

"Let's see. You will marry this."

An image floated into Rinoa's vision. A crippled man, if it could be called a man, sat in a wheelchair.

Rinoa approached the figure. The figure's head leaned on its right shoulder. The thing had a total of 3 strands of hair left, both ghostly pale, almost translucent. Its back was hunched, a lot. It didn't have a shirt, but it didn't turn Rinoa on. It made her puke her nonexistent dream dinner.

There were scars. Oh so many scars. There was no muscle, no fat, no bones. It was just a mass of scars. Of battle wounds. Its body was greatly disfigured. Rinoa noticed both its arms were amputated. The tongue lulled from its mouth.

Rinoa jumped when it spoke.

"Come here pretty! I want to taste my wife!"

Rinoa shivered. Its voice was nasally, Rinoa noticed a hole in his neck, in his windpipe.

To her horror, Rinoa found her body moving, approaching the creature. She found herself kneeling before it. Bringing her face next to that Hyne-awful tongue as it began to drag it over her face. Rinoa felt sick. She would rather a dog slobbering over her than this thing.

She watched as the thing smiled evilly.

"Tasty!" With a last lick Rinoa found herself standing in front of it again, her face dripping with its disgusting saliva.

'Who the hell is this?'

The shadowy figure read her mind. "Why Rinoa dear, this is your fiancé. The president's son!"

If Rinoa had control over her body she would have puked, she would have screamed, she would have run. But she didn't have control of herself in this nightmare. Instead she heard the creature hiss.

"Come here darling, show me that you're mine!"

Rinoa's mind panicked as her body began undressing for the disgusting thing in front of her.

'No. No! NO! Please let me wake up! Please! Mom! Help! Someone! Squall!'

* * *

Rinoa sat up breathing insanely hard. She felt herself underneath the covers. Her clothes were still on. She felt her face, it was sweaty but not dripping in saliva. She sighed in relief.

Rinoa glanced around herself. She frowned. It was still dark. It was 3:45 am.

She lied back down. She closed her eyes. Her phone vibrated on her nightstand. Rinoa shot up and grabbed it to see who called her.

'Squall.'

Rinoa sadly pressed a button. It stopped ringing.

'1 missed call.'

She pressed another button.

'0 missed calls.'

She slid back into bed. She checked the time. 3:47 am.

She closed her eyes.

* * *

"You left me!"

The booming voice scared Rinoa. It wasn't anything like the soothing one she had come to know belonged to her boyfriend. 'Ex-boyfriend.' Rinoa had to remind herself.

"You left me! And for what? To save the world? The world doesn't even need saving stupid girl!"

Rinoa curled up into a little ball, somewhere in the expansive darkness.

"Doesn't what I want mean anything to you? Or are you just being selfish?"

'What? I thought I was being selfless by putting the world's well being before mine. Now Shadow-Squall is calling me selfish?'

"That's right! You're selfish! You played with me didn't you? You never loved me. You're words were hollow."

"No." Rinoa whispered. "No that's not true! I meant them! Every word! Every syllable!"

"Hah! You're just a confused little girl!"

Rinoa shook her head.

"You never listened when you were younger!" The voice changed again. It was that of her mother. Her angry mother.

Rinoa didn't remember ever hearing this voice directed at her. It was always at her father. It hurt to hear it. It hurt to feel it.

"You ungrateful child! You would throw away everything I longed for now?"

Rinoa looked up. She thought she could make out the shadowy figure to be her mother. Of course her delusional mind could have made it out to be anybody.

"I gave my life to you! For you to cherish! And now you're going to throw it away because of him? Caraway? This is just unbelievable!"

* * *

Chocolate eyes flew open, turned to a clock. 4:23 am.

'Another nightmare. Another accusation. Another reprimanding.'

Rinoa breathed in deeply. The nightmares were persistent as ever.

Rinoa slipped out of bed.

'Maybe I need a drink.'

She tiptoed down the stairs to the kitchen and helped herself to a glass of water. The whole time watching the clock.

The seconds ticked by.

The water glass emptied.

Rinoa returned to her room to try to sleep again. She checked the clock right before drifting to sleep. 4:49 am.

* * *

"How did you like your last session with President Loire's son?" A shadowy voice called out.

'I hated it!' Rinoa thought. 'Shit. I can't talk again.'

"I'm sure you loved it. But you left at the best part."

'What? When he was going to fuck me?'

"Exactly." The shadowy figure approached Rinoa.

'Don't you dare come any closer! You pervert!' Rinoa tried to run, she tried to move. 'Oh shit! This can't be happening! Not again! I can't be having the same nightmare again! Help! Mom! Anybody! Let me out!'

"Nobody can hear you my dear. Maybe you'd like someone to hear you. To cherish you."

Rinoa found herself no longer in a dark room but on top of a pile of ooze. Very sticky ooze.

'This is sick! Let me out! Mom! Somebody!'

"Oh Rinoa dear," The shadowy voice called out again, "We aren't anywhere near done!"

Another creature appeared. This one was different than before. This one was definitely human. It was walking. It was also probably a fourth the weight of Rinoa. Its ribs jutted out. Every bone was visible. Rinoa noticed that it was missing an eye. And was horrified to see a worm snaking its way out of said eye socket.

'Who the hell is this? It's not President Loire's son.' Rinoa thought confidently.

"Oh that's where you're wrong Rinoa. This is President Loire's son. I'll let you two get better acquainted."

Rinoa stared in horror as the skeleton wrapped in human skin approached her.

"Rinoa dearest, why don't you get more comfortable." the thing emitted in a low, bone-chilling, raspy voice.

Like before, Rinoa found herself obediently stripping, then to her horror she lied down in the ooze. The stuff squished around her.

After she was planted in the stuff she found herself in control of her body. Except, the ooze prevented much movement. She could scream though, and she did. Very loud.

'Oh dear Hyne no! Mom! Help! Please!'

The creature moved easily through the ooze. It glided right between her legs. It leaned on her, caressing her skin. It felt like rock and dirt against her skin. She swore it grinned at the pure terror written on her face.

'Get me out of here! Someone! Please! Mom! Anybody!'

The creature stuck a bony finger into her mouth, poking and prodding around. Rinoa tried to keep her tongue away from the filthy appendage. At that moment she forgot to even call for help in her mind.

'Oh Hyne! That is disgusting! I'd rather eat my own bile!'

Rinoa tried to spit, tried to gag, tried to puke. Anything to get the finger out of her mouth. Anything to replace its repugnant taste with something less repugnant, even vomit.

She felt it's other hand glide over her stomach, up to her chest. It fondled her.

'Hyne no! Why can't I wake up? Someone help me! Please! Squall!'

* * *

The eyes opened again. They darted around the room. No Ooze. No boney man. No shadowy figure. Again Rinoa felt herself underneath the sheets. She was still clothed. But she still felt violated. Violated by her own mind. Her own nightmares. Her mouth tasted horrible, she didn't know if it was just an aftereffect of her nightmare. She glanced at her clock. 5:15 am.

Rinoa breathed in a deep breath.

'5 am. That's still early but… I don't want to fall asleep again. I don't want to see any more nightmares.'

Rinoa slipped out of bed and wearily stumbled to her private bathroom to rinse the repugnant taste in her mouth out.

'Why can't I sleep? Why does Squall keep accusing me? Why does my mother keep blaming me?'

A bigger question crossed Rinoa's tormented mind. 'Why does Caraway keep introducing me to one horrible President Loire's son after another? Why do they all only want to screw me?' It dawned on Rinoa. 'They don't love me, they just want to use me.'

Rinoa leaned against the wall only to slid down it. She was too tired to stand. With or without the wall's support. She needed more support. She used to have support. She used to have her mother. She used to have Squall.

Rinoa's head fell into her hands.

'Did I do the right thing? Did I throw away true love for the right reason? Can I do anything about it?'

Rinoa felt a burst of energy enter her being. She glanced up and back into her room. Her phone was vibrating. Vibrating so much that it fell off her nightstand and onto the floor. Rinoa jumped up and ran to it. She stumbled into the bathroom door and the foot of her bed before successfully making it to her nightstand. She was beyond tired.

By the time Rinoa reached her phone it had stopped ringing. She glanced at the screen.

'2 missed calls.'

Rinoa pressed some buttons.

'Squall… and… Squall.'

Rinoa fell onto her bed, spread eagle.

'Why can't you let me go Squall? I love you too much to let you die in a war between our nations. If I marry your president's son, there will be no more wars.'

The phone buzzed in her hand. Rinoa checked.

'Squall again.'

Rinoa paused before rejecting it.

'Would it really be that bad to talk to him? Maybe they could remain friends. Maybe they could remain… lovers?'

Rinoa blinked at the thought.

'Was Selphie right? I could have an affair? Wait! I'm not even married yet and I'm already thinking of cheating on my husband!'

Rinoa rejected the call.

She drifted into a fitful sleep. It was 5:29 am.

* * *

"You stupid girl! And to think you're my daughter!"

Rinoa cowered in the corner of the dark room.

"You throw away what I spent years trying to give you without a care!"

Rinoa covered her eyes. She couldn't see who the shadowy figure was. But this one was a lot angrier than the last few nightmares.

"I taught you to love! To care! To be a good person! I see my husband corrupted you. You believe his lies!"

Rinoa glanced up in time to see a shadowy hand come flying at her. Her eyes shut tight.

She felt a sharp pain in her cheek and heat.

'Wait, how can I feel in a dream?'

* * *

Rinoa opened her eyes. The dark room was gone. She was once again in her room, but not in her bed. She had rolled off. That was the pain she felt. She had fallen to the ground on her cheek.

Rinoa got up. She glanced at the time. 6:15 am.

She sighed.

'I'm not sure anymore. Is this my mother telling me I'm wrong? Or just my mind trying to convince me to be selfish?'

Rinoa looked at herself in the mirror. She grimaced at the sight. Hair everywhere, bags under her eyes, red blood vessels present within her eyes, a slight bruise forming on her right cheek. She truly looked like hell.

Rinoa ignored her appearance and headed out of the mansion. She had a purpose. She had to talk to her mother. Her mother wouldn't care if she looked like hell.

* * *

Rinoa began heading to her car but thought better. She couldn't even walk in a straight line, how would she drive in one?

The girl made her way to the public cemetery. Her path deranged. A few pedestrians thought she was drunk.

* * *

Rinoa walked down the street. Or stumbled more likely. She saw things. She didn't know if they were real or not. She saw men kissing women. Little girls stealing kisses from little boys. Old ladies holding old men. Adolescent boys presenting flowers to adolescent girls. She saw love everywhere. Everywhere but where she stood.

Nobody came to hug her. Nobody came to kiss her.

There was no Squall driving by to pick her up. No Selphie there to do something completely random. No Quistis there to take precautious measures to ensure her own safety, and maybe Rinoa's as well. Irvine wasn't there to keep Selphie, who also wasn't there, in check. Nobody was there.

Rinoa felt alone. Rinoa felt unloved.

'Is this how life will be once I marry President Loire's son? A life without love? A life alone?'

Rinoa stumbled on.

* * *

Rinoa made it. The tombstone. 'Julia Heartily Caraway. A Faithful Wife and Loving Mother.'

Rinoa scoffed. 'Faithful. Figures Caraway didn't think she was loving. He wouldn't know what love was if it hit him at the speed of light.'

Rinoa looked further down. Her mother had died young. Very young. She had only been in her thirties when the car accident claimed her life.

Rinoa took a seat next to the stone. Had her mother ever truly loved Caraway? Was it even possible for someone to love Caraway? Had her mother been forced into an arranged marriage. Would Rinoa die young too if she entered a marriage without love?

Rinoa took a deep breath. 'Here goes nothing.'

"Hi mom."

Rinoa scooted closer to her mother's tombstone. Her face was a mere foot away from her mother's engraved name.

"I'm sorry I haven't been here recently."

Rinoa looked around. The grave was well kept. Caraway hired extra help that would tend to the site, keep it mowed, flowers blooming, and bugs away. Rinoa frowned. 'Is this comfortable? You're husband doesn't feel like keeping your gravesite clean so he hires other people to do it? That's his definition of comfortable, the comfortable life he wants me to have merely entails a wealthy husband, not a loving one.'

Rinoa looked back at her mother's engraved name. "Sorry about that mom. I was lost in thought for a bit. Well, I know you've heard me complain about Caraway enough. I didn't come here to bore you with that old argument."

Rinoa glanced at her feet tucked neatly beneath either of her legs. "I wanted to… to ask you for advice."

Rinoa had trouble putting words to her thoughts. "Um… Well… I guess every time I come here I need to ask you for advice. But… but this isn't about Caraway. Well… Not entirely."

Rinoa picked a dandelion off to the side of where she was sitting. She placed it in the flowerpot on the side of the tombstone. "Well, Caraway wants me to marry this guy. I don't know him. I don't love him. I know I don't love him. I assume you might ask me to give him a chance. You were always more level headed than I ever was. You always put an end to Caraway and my arguments."

Rinoa looked at her mother's name. "I miss you mom. I miss having you here. To guide me. But… even though you're no longer here. I need you to guide me one more time. I know the man Caraway wants me to marry isn't my true love… because… because I've already found my true love."

"His name is Squall Leonhart. He has this shaggy brown hair that makes him look so mysterious." Rinoa smiled at the thought of Squall. "But that's not the best part mom! He has these deep blue eyes that I keep finding myself lost in. It's like they hypnotize me! They're so gorgeous! Sometimes I wish I could pluck them from his eyes and keep them for myself."

Rinoa laughed. "And that's not everything either mom! His voice is so calm and gentle. Like yours. He's always able to comfort me. I feel so safe when I'm with him, in his arms." Rinoa's eyes widened. "Oh yes! Mom, his arms are so strong! You'd like him I bet! But mom… You can't have him! He's mine!" Rinoa smiled until she realized what she had just said. Then she frowned. "I mean. He… was… mine."

A tear escaped Rinoa's eyes. "I broke up with him mom. At the time it felt so right. He didn't do anything to deserve it though. I just felt that I had an obligation to the world to see Caraway's marriage through. I'll be marrying President Laguna's son. He's the president of Esthar. I assume with this marriage, Galbadia and Esthar will come to a truce. Won't that be good mom? No more wars?"

Rinoa frowned. "But, is it right what I did? I broke Squall's heart. I broke my heart. To do what Caraway wanted. I think all of Galbadia wants this too. I went to the Deling Orphanage. It's this new orphanage for children who lost their parents to war or disease. I love the kids there. They were so excited to hear that I was going to be married. Caraway invited everyone and the children were so excited to go to it."

Rinoa paused. "I couldn't bring myself to tell them that I didn't want to get married to that guy."

Rinoa paused again. "Mom what would you do? What do you think?"

"Should I marry President Loire's son? Or see if Squall will forgive me?"

A breeze blew through the cemetery. Rinoa heard a clinking sound from under her shirt.

She lifted her necklace. The two rings.

Rinoa smiled. "Hey mom. Here's your wedding band. It's my most cherished possession. And this one…" Rinoa lifted up Griever. "This one is Squall's ring. It's his family's heirloom. It's my second most cherished possession. I keep them with me, near my heart. Because I love you both very much."

Rinoa smile diminished. "Mom, it took me nearly 13 years to get over your death. Will it take me that long to get over Squall? You know it was Squall that really made me get over your death? He filled the void in my heart. I guess he was the first person I had learned to love again. Like how I loved you." Rinoa thought about that a bit then laughed. "Well, maybe not the exact same love."

Rinoa's laughter subsided, "Maybe, maybe I should ask Squall to forgive me. Maybe, just maybe, we can work things out. Maybe there won't be a war with Esthar even if I don't marry President Loire's son. Maybe, maybe the children will love me even if I don't go through with this wedding."

Rinoa looked around her, the birds started chirping. "Maybe I'll be able to invite them all to my wedding. My wedding with Squall. I'll be sure to invite you too mom." Rinoa broke out into a wide smile.

Rinoa got up. "Thanks mom. I love you. I'll go tell Caraway and then beg Squall for forgiveness. I'm going to wait for my true love. I can't believe I broke up with my true love over something as stupid as Caraway's idea of a good marriage. I just hope Squall will take me back. I hope he's not mad at me."

Rinoa hurriedly ran back towards the mansion. She was no longer walking deranged, she was running proud. 'Mother would think this is the right thing to do.'


	12. Who It Is

Uploaded: 2009.11.11 (I've decided I'm pretty bad at the whole monologue thing.)

Disclaimer: Whatever

Who it is?

* * *

"Don't you even want to know **who it is?**"

'Who it is.' That thought echoed over and over in Squall's mind. He hadn't been able to sleep all night. These thoughts plagued him ever since Rinoa broke it off with him the evening before. 'Who is Rinoa marrying? Who am I marrying? Does it matter? She's not marrying me. And I'm not marrying her.'

Squall rubbed his eyes. He was tired. Beyond tired. Every time he woke up last night he tried calling her, praying she would answer. Praying to hear her voice. Even if it was only to yell at him for waking her up.

'What did I do?' Squall was confused. 'It was going so well. She seemed to be having fun at the orphanage. She even told Matron Ma that she was going to cancel the wedding.'

Squall shook his head. Something was amiss. 'She seemed adamant about helping the children. To not add more to their ranks. To not start a war. How could her marriage prevent a war?'

Knock, knock!

Squall was jolted from his thoughts. 'What does Seifer want now? Today is definitely NOT the day to fuck with me.' Squall propped himself up. "What?"

The door opened to reveal his spiky blonde haired friend. "Dude, you were making a shitload of noise in here. Thought you died or something."

Squall glared at Seifer bitterly, 'I did die.'

Seifer shuffled nervously under Squall's stern gaze and unfriendly silence. "Um, well I also just thought you'd like to know it's noon." Seifer broke eye contact with Squall. "Um, I was going to go eat lunch with Quisty, was wondering if you and Rinny would want to go."

Squall frowned. 'Lunch. Maybe. Rinoa. Not likely." He shook his head.

Seifer decided Squall wasn't in the greatest moods. "Alright, well I'll be out. See you later." He turned to leave Squall to his foul mood but was stopped by Squall's voice.

"I'm going back to Esthar." The decision was sudden. For both Seifer and Squall. 'She won't even talk to me. I can't stay here. It only reminds me of her.'

Seifer eyed his friend wearily. "Did something happen?"

Squall diverted his eyes. 'A lot happened.'

Seifer sighed. He wasn't going to get any more information out of his friend. "Alright, I'm going to stay here a while longer. You mind if I stay in the apartment 'til the lease is up?"

Squall shrugged. 'Like I care.'

Seifer nodded and headed out the door. He knew something wasn't right, but nothing would come of him trying to pry it out of an unwilling Squall, well besides an angry Quistis for being stood up.

Squall frowned as Seifer closed his room door. He fell back onto his bed. He was tired. Maybe he could sleep now.

* * *

It was dreamless. The brown haired boy awoke to a dark room. 'How long did I sleep?' He found the clock. Late evening.

Squall stepped out of his room. Seifer was apparently busy with Quistis in his own. Squall decided not to bother them.

He simply left. No clothes. No luggage. No phone.

He loaded Lionheart into the trunk of his car. He'd have it shipped back to Esthar. He looked at the car. 'Maybe I'll sell the car too. Too many memories of Rinoa in it.'

Squall sighed and drove to the Deling Train Station. He was lucky. 'Yes. Lucky.' Squall thought bitterly as he arrived just in time to secure a train ticket back to Esthar. He finalized a few quick instructions to get his car back as well before boarding the train. Hopefully to never set eyes on the horrid city that was Deling again.

* * *

Squall sat back in his seat. He was next to an old lady and what was probably her granddaughter. The brat wouldn't sit still. Wouldn't shut up. She constantly jumped on her seat as the train whizzed by various places. Squall was reminded of Rinoa's enthusiasm for life. He frowned at the memory. He turned his back to the happy pair.

Squall thought back to the last time he was on a train. 'Ironic. I came here with only a gunblade and a phone hoping to find my purpose. I leave here with no gunblade and no phone and no purpose.' His mind screamed one last thought despite his attempts to quench it. 'And no Rinoa.'

He frowned.

* * *

Squall walked along the streets of Esthar. The city's brightly colored buildings irritated him. The fresh breeze coming from the west angered him. The cheerful children laughing and playing around him gave him a headache. 'How could anyone like this Hyne-awful city?'

Squall kicked a stack of newspapers waiting to be delivered. It was early morning. The train ride had taken the entire night.

Without a car, without a phone, and without notice, Squall was forced to walk all the way to the Presidential Palace. Nobody knew he was here. Nobody except Seifer and he was miles away. Squall grumbled as the stack of newspapers flew in every direction. He didn't care.

He didn't care that it made a mess. He didn't care that he was littering the streets. He didn't care that it was a 100 gil fine if caught. He didn't care that a man's voice shouted after him angrily. He just didn't care anymore.

* * *

"Mr. Loire!" A shocked doorman shouted when Squall entered the palace. "You've returned!"

Squall ignored him. He didn't care about him either.

The doorman didn't take the hint. "I'll inform his Excellency right away!" The foolish man ran to do just that.

Squall didn't wait for him to return; instead he made his way to his room. 'I wonder if it's still MY room.' Squall thought bitterly.

He pushed open the door to be welcomed by his room. Untouched since he left it. Squall frowned. It was big. He didn't care. He flopped down onto his bed. It was soft. He didn't' care. He closed his eyes. It was peaceful here. No frantic rushing of Deling City. He didn't care.

* * *

Squall was woken up by an annoyingly cheerful voice.

"Good morning to you! Good morning to you! It's another bright sunny day and oh what a view!"

Squall groaned. 'When will that man ever shut up? Does he know that only 5-year-olds were woken up like this?'

"Come on Squally! It's time to get up! I'm so glad you came back! Just in time too!"

Squall shot up. "Don't EVER call me that again!" He gave the president a harsh glare, one that he hoped would kill.

Unfortunately Laguna seemed immune to the Squall-glare-of-death. He simply smiled. "You missed so much fun! Your fiancé came over and we had a great time! Ellone told me they took her on the grand tour of Esthar!" He looked out of one of Squall's many windows. "Oh I think she fell in love at first look!"

"It's 'first sight', you idiot!" Squall mumbled. 'Dear Hyne, please tell me I'm not really related to him.'

Again Laguna didn't seem to hear Squall. "Anyway! The wedding is soon! Aren't you excited? You'll be marrying that wonderful girl! She looked so much like an old acquaintance of mine. I wonder who her mother is."

Squall ignored Laguna and decided it would be best to escape or he would be trapped there all morning listening to his rambling. Squall ducked out the door. Laguna was still staring out the window, talking to himself.

* * *

Squall made his way down to the kitchen to find Ellone.

"Squall!" She got up from her cereal to hug her brother. "You came back!"

Squall frowned. "Yea."

Ellone's disposition immediately dampened at his somber attitude. "What happened? Did something happen with that girl you spoke of?"

"Yea." Squall wasn't letting any other information leave his lips.

Ellone frowned. She had hoped Squall would find true love. Yes she had hoped he would come back and marry this Rinoa girl who Laguna set him up with, but she had always been torn. She wanted both Laguna and Squall to be happy. Laguna wanted Squall to marry Rinoa, Squall wanted to be with whoever it was he had found. 'I guess they can't both be happy. Too bad Squall was the one who has to be disappointed, Uncle Laguna would be happy as long as there was a wedding. And cake.'

Squall helped himself to some cereal and sat himself down next to Ellone's bowl. Ellone returned to hers and took a crunchy bite before speaking up again.

"So, are you going to give Laguna's marriage thing a chance?"

Squall shrugged.

"You know Squall, you said that if your other thing didn't work out you'd give it a chance."

Squall sighed. "I don't care."

Ellone frowned. She felt like she was slowly killing him. "She's really not that bad Squall. I mean, I know you don't trust Uncle Laguna's judgment, but don't you trust mine just a little bit?" Ellone wasn't sure but she thought she would feel incredibly hurt if Squall mistrusted her as much as he did his father.

Squall shrugged. "I don't care."

Ellone's frown deepened. 'He doesn't trust me. That… hurts…' She looked down at her cereal and ate in silence. 'Maybe it's too early for him to think of finding someone else to love.'

Squall pushed his chair away from the table, took his bowl to the sink and exited the kitchen. He didn't say another word to Ellone. He crept by his room to find Laguna still staring out over the city, still talking to himself. Squall frowned and crept on by. He would have to find something else to do while the moron monopolized his bedroom.

Squall found him pacing back and forth before the only other place he used to find comfort. Ellone's room.

She wasn't there though; she was still eating breakfast. Squall didn't really want to talk to her. She only thought about that arranged marriage. Squall honestly couldn't believe it. His sis had sided with Laguna. 'Sis knows how stupid Laguna is, why is she siding with him?'

He was brought out of his thoughts as one of the two subjects of his mind touched his shoulder.

"Squall, I know you don't like following what Uncle Laguna tells you to do. But I really think you're being irrational here. You haven't even met the girl. She's really sweet."

Squall looked up into Ellone's face. Her smile radiated genuine care. He knew she wasn't trying to do anything that he would regret. 'But Rinoa! I… I can't give up yet!' Squall made up his mind and turned to Ellone. "One last try. If this doesn't work then I'll do whatever you think is best."

Ellone nodded.

Squall reached into his pocket and paused. 'Damnit, why did I leave my phone in the apartment?' Squall turned to his Sis, "Hey can you give me a ride? I need to grab a new phone."

She nodded and they headed off. Squall noted as he past his bedroom door that Laguna was still talking to himself. Still staring out at his city. 'Well,' Squall thought with a smile, 'He'll soon see me and Ellone driving away.'

* * *

Squall could have used any phone to make the call. He could have used Ellone's. He could have used the Presidential Palace's. If only he had memorized Rinoa's number. He went to the phone shop with the sole purpose of downloading his contacts off of his phone in Deling City to be used on a phone in Esthar. The people said they would only download it to a new phone if he bought it through them.

'Greedy bastards.' Squall thought bitterly as he looked at his new phone. It was a cheap one. He only needed it to work once anyway.

He dialed.

He waited.

He prayed.

And he waited some more.

The incessant beeping seemed to be ticking down to the apocalypse. In reality it merely ticked down to the answering service.

That was exactly what Squall received. Not the apocalypse, but the answering service. The cheerful recorded voice echoed in Squall's ear.

"Hi! You've reached Rinoa Caraway! I'm not here right now but if you leave your name, number, and 10 good reasons for me to call you back then I might just do that! Bye-bye!"

Squall groaned as he heard the beep to begin recording his message.

"Listen… Rinoa… It's… Squall…" Squall frowned into the phone. 'Why was it so hard to string together a sentence?' Squall looked to the car where Ellone was waiting for him. She seemed impatient.

"Listen… Rinoa… I just wanted to ask if we could talk about this… You know… I mean… I'm sure we could make things work. I'm sure a war won't break out just because you don't go through with your arranged marriage." Squall took a deep breath.

"Truth is… Rinoa… I'm also stuck in an arranged marriage. You met me at the train station that one night because I was running away from it. I was hoping to avoid everything, avoid life. I tried to ignore it. But in that time… I met you. I learned that some things couldn't be ignored. Some things were best revealed… and I think… I think if we both confronted our parents… with each other… we could convince them to call off both of our marriages."

"Listen… Rinoa… Even if you still want to go through with your arranged marriage. Just know… I'll always love you… We can still be friends right? … Hyne! I don't care if a war breaks out. I don't care if I am the cause of future pain. I just want the present pain to subside."

"Please… Rinoa… Please… Call me so we can talk about this."

Squall hung up. He saw Ellone was watching him. He made his way to the car and took his place in the passenger's seat.

"How'd it go?" Ellone asked.

Squall frowned. "She didn't pick up."

It was Ellone's turn to frown. "Maybe Squall… And don't get mad at me for saying this… But maybe she doesn't want to talk to you about it?"

Squall's frown deepened, "Just because she didn't answer doesn't mean she didn't want to. I mean, she could have been in the bathroom or something. She'll call back. I know she will."

Ellone shrugged. "Okay, we'll give her 24 hours. If she doesn't call back by then, will you please just go through with this marriage?"

Squall knew he was beat. "Fine. It won't matter though, she'll call by then." Squall hoped he was right.

* * *

Squall waited. He had finally shooed Laguna from his room. He had locked the door. Hid the key. He spent the rest of the morning, the afternoon, and the evening sitting on his bed. Staring at his phone. Waiting for it to ring. Praying for it to ring.

'Why hasn't she called? Does she really want to go through with her arranged marriage? Was she just leading me on the entire time?'

Thoughts again haunted Squall as he lied in bed. Waiting for the call.

He checked his phone 3 times every hour to make sure the phone wasn't on silent. He even called his phone from Ellone's to make sure he could hear the ringing, only to regret it the moment after. 'What if Rinoa had called at the exact same time? She would have received a busy signal. What if she decided not to leave a message?'

Squall thought about calling again but doubt overcame him. 'What if Rinoa called at the exact same time I called her? Rinoa and I would both receive a busy signal!'

Squall didn't dare touch the phone, fearing he might accidentally reject her call the instant she tried calling. Instead he chose to stare at it as it lay on his nightstand. Waiting for it to ring. Praying for it to ring. Begging for it to ring.

* * *

As the night wore on, Squall was broken from his intense concentration on his phone by several knocks on his door, at several different times. One he supposed was for lunch, another for dinner, others probably to see if he was still alive.

He told them to go away harshly each and every time. He didn't have a clue who had came. Maybe a maid. Maybe Laguna. Maybe Ellone. He didn't care.

His only care was his phone. His phone and the call that should be coming through at any moment. 'Rinoa couldn't ignore me. Could she?'

He sat and stared. Glancing at the time displayed. 3:25 am. Squall had to glance at it again. 'I've been staring at it for almost 20 hours!'

Squall checked to make sure the phone was still set at max volume. 'Who cares if it wakes up the entire palace?' He glanced at the time. 3:26 am.

His eyes began to droop but he was determined to not fall asleep. He bounded to his bathroom to splash water on his face. When he returned he saw it was 3:30 am. '5 minutes. It seemed like an eternity. That's good. I have several more eternities and Rin only has to call within one of them.'

* * *

Three eternities later. 3:45 am.

Squall stared at the phone. His mind was betraying him. He could hear it ringing but whenever he glanced at the phone it was as silent as ever. 'Did they sell me a faulty phone? I knew that phone shop was shady! I bet it never even called Rinoa. That's probably why she hasn't called. She couldn't possibly ignore it. She always cared about people. She cared about the children. She cared about her friends. She cared about me. That was her reason for breaking it off.'

Squall frowned. 'But, I told her in the voice message that I'd be fine with just being friends.' Squall paused, 'Well, I'm not really fine with just being friends but she doesn't know that. She would call even if she just wanted to be friends. She could save the world and we'd be… friends…'

Squall shook his head and glanced at the time. 3:47 am.

* * *

Several eternities later. 4:23 am.

Squall was sure he was delusional now. 'Why hasn't she called? She only has another few hours! She said she wasn't happy with her arranged marriage! She said she was happy with me! She said she loved me! Why hasn't she called?'

Squall got up to pace around his room. The city of Esthar looked peaceful outside his room. His mind resembled little of that image. There was no peace. There was no beauty. There was darkness though. Darkness and more darkness.

Squall grabbed his hair. He was at wits end. He had slept little ever since Rinoa had broken it off with him, exactly 57 hours and 24 minutes ago. It was 4:49 am.

* * *

By the time 5:15 am rolled around. Squall was curled into a little ball. A stark contrast from the proud president's son who had stormed out of the Grand Hall at Caraway's birthday party upon learning of Rinoa's arranged marriage. He had little time left. He had stopped watching the phone. It was too painful. He was determined that no matter what happened he would not cry.

* * *

By the time 5:29 am came along, Squall's mind was in a heated argument with itself.

'Tonight is the worst night of my life.'

'No. Two nights ago was the worst night of your life. You didn't sleep then either. You called her ever few minutes.'

'No. At least then I had the pride to sit up. Now I can't even move.'

'That's because you've slept less than 5 hours in the last 72 hours.'

'No. It's because she didn't call. It's because this is the worst night in my life.'

The argument continued. It was never to be won by either side of his mind.

* * *

Less than an hour later there was a knock at his door. It frightened him. He didn't move.

The person came in anyway. It was Ellone. It was the next morning, 6:15 am.

She took one look at her brother and her heart broke.

She was probably the only one in the world who would be able to say they had seen the man cry. She offered to stay up with him as they waited for the end of the 24-hour doomsday. Squall couldn't care less. He couldn't care about the time, couldn't care about the phone, couldn't care to try.

He fell asleep.

* * *

He slept like a log. Of course logs don't actually sleep but he moved like a log in his sleep. As in, he didn't move at all. When Laguna came to wake him later that morning the older man panicked, thinking the boy was dead. Ellone assured him otherwise and they left him to his sleep. Hyne knew how much he needed it.

* * *

Squall wouldn't wake up that day. He wouldn't wake up until the following day. To the obnoxious sound of Laguna's singing voice.

"Good morning to you! Good morning to you! Good morning dear Squallyyyyyyyyyyy!" He paused as Squall groaned. Laguna smiled. "Good morning to you!"

"Shoot me now." Squall mumbled into his pillow. 'Life is a nightmare.'

Laguna bounded over to Squall and to the younger man's displeasure, he didn't shoot him. "Ellone told me all about what happened. I'm so glad you've decided to go through with this! I called your fiance's father and he's adamant about pushing the wedding up. We thought tomorrow would be a great time!"

Squall groaned. He had just slept for over 18 hours, was awoken to his father's annoyingly ever cheerful voice, and was now told he was to be married to some obnoxious girl the following day. Life didn't get any worse than this.

"So Squall, want me to tell you about her? She's really cheerful! She has this amazing black hair and chocolate eyes! She reminds me a lot of my first love…"

"NO! Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP! Get out! I don't want to hear this! I don't want to know who she is! I just want to be left alone!" Squall found strength from somewhere. Or maybe it wasn't strength and instead pent up anger.

Laguna looked shocked. "Don't you want to know who it is at least? She has a pretty name."

Squall groaned as he buried his head back into his pillow, "My life is over, it doesn't matter who it is."


	13. Life

Uploaded: 2009.11.14

Disclaimer: Whatever

Life

* * *

"You WILL marry this boy or you will NEVER see another boy in your **life**!"

When Caraway said those words the first time Rinoa never thought he meant it. When he said it again right after she told him she wasn't going to marry President Loire's son she still didn't think he meant it.

It wasn't until she found herself tied to her bed did she really start believing he meant it.

Rinoa pulled against her restraints. Each arm and leg was tied to a bedpost. She could do little more than yell angry threats at Caraway. The monster had taken the time to also tie her waist down to the mattress. Rinoa couldn't even wiggle.

She had been struggling ever since she came back from her mother's grave and informed Caraway of her decision. The man had laughed in her face. The next thing she knew she was being tied to her bed.

That was a day ago. Her wrists and ankles were raw from her hopeless struggles. She had given up hope by now. All she could do was lie there, scream whenever Caraway passed by, and try to make the servants' lives, who were trying to force feed her, hell.

Despite her predicament, Rinoa was about to get an even worse surprise. Her phone rang. She turned her head to her nightstand. It was only a few feet away. If only she could move a little bit, she could call for help. She could call Squall.

'Why didn't I call Squall before talking to Caraway? Now, he probably thinks I hate him since I didn't return any of his phone calls!'

The phone continued to ring.

'I wonder who that could be.' Rinoa strained her neck so she could glimpse the caller id. At least her neck wasn't also tied down.

The phone rang again. It wouldn't ring much longer.

Rinoa yanked against her restraints hard. 'Too bad Caraway's rich enough to buy strong rope.' She yanked again and let out a shriek, as the knot seemed to only tighten. 'Okay, bad idea Rinoa. Very bad idea.' She felt like the blood was being cut off to her hand.

The phone stopped ringing.

Rinoa stopped trying to get to the phone. 'It's too late.'

Her answering service picked up the call. She heard her own cheerful voice speak to whoever was on the other end.

"Hi! You've reached Rinoa Caraway! I'm not here right now but if you leave your name, number, and 10 good reasons for me to call you back then I might just do that! Bye-bye!"

Rinoa heard the beep. 'Will they leave a message?'

"Listen… Rinoa… It's… Squall…"

Rinoa panicked. 'Oh no! It's Squall! I have to get to it!' Rinoa yanked again at her restraints. Ignoring the pain. Ignoring the blue tint her extremities were turning.

"Listen… Rinoa… I just wanted to ask if we could talk about this… You know… I mean… I'm sure we could make things work. I'm sure a war won't break out just because you don't go through with your arranged marriage."

It was getting harder and harder to ignore the pain. Rinoa gritted her teeth and tried again. 'Squall called me! He forgives me! I can't give up! He needs me! I need him!' "SQUALL!" Rinoa cried out her last thoughts. Too bad nobody heard her.

"Truth is… Rinoa… I'm also stuck in an arranged marriage. You met me at the train station that one night because I was running away from it. I was hoping to avoid everything, avoid life. I tried to ignore it. But in that time… I met you. I learned that some things couldn't be ignored. Some things were best revealed… and I think… I think if we both confronted our parents… with each other… we could convince them to call off both of our marriages."

Rinoa stopped struggling. 'What? Squall's also in an arranged marriage? So, we really had the odds stacked against us. Maybe, maybe I should have just ran away like Squall did. Wait… Who the hell is he supposed to marry? I'll kill that bitch!'

"Listen… Rinoa… Even if you still want to go through with your arranged marriage. Just know… I'll always love you… We can still be friends right? … Hyne! I don't care if a war breaks out. I don't care if I am the cause of future pain. I just want the present pain to subside."

Rinoa was in tears. Previous anger forgotten. 'No Squall, I want to marry you! I don't want to go through with this marriage! I don't care if war breaks out, I don't care anymore either! Please just come back to me!'

"Please… Rinoa… Please… Call me so we can talk about this."

With a click, the message was over. Rinoa tested the knots again, and again, and again. Each attempt only caused further pain. Each beep from her phone told her of the message that was now burned into her memory.

She would be stuck like that until her wedding day.

* * *

"Come on Squally! We're going to be late!"

"What did I tell you about calling me that?" Squall glared at the man who ignored him and bounced onto the train.

"We're going to Winhill for your wedding! It's a gorgeous place! So peaceful! You know it's where I met your mother? Raine. Sometimes I wished I still lived there, with her, with Ellone, with you. Life would be so much simpler!"

Squall groaned, took a seat, and placed his head in his palms. He tried as best he could to block out Laguna's constant chatter.

Ellone wedged herself in between Laguna and Squall, much to Squall's relief. "Uncle Laguna, I think we should focus on something other than your and Raine's life. How about the wedding? We can all get excited about the wedding!" She smiled at her ingenuity.

Squall frowned.

Laguna beamed. "Alright! I've invited all of Esthar to attend, but since it's in Winhill, I doubt that many will be coming, maybe a few thousand. But don't you worry Squally, your fiancé is very popular in Galbadia and I've been told almost all of their country planned to attend!"

Squall didn't reply. Ellone did.

"That sounds wonderful! It'll be such a grand occasion! Oh! I need to make sure I have some extra cameras!" She shot up and ran to her bag where she poured out 15 cameras.

Squall groaned. 'You'd think it was HER wedding.'

Laguna dove for a camera and started snapping pictures. "Ellone dear, we need to remember his last moments of bachelorhood as well as his first of married life! I swear Squally! We're going to have to set aside a room in the Presidential Palace JUST for your wedding albums!"

Squall kept his face hidden from the camera.

Ellone broke the annoying silence that had grown, only interrupted by the clicks and flashes of Laguna's camera. "So Squall, who did you choose for your groomsmen? Seifer?"

Squall shook his head in his hands. Ellone didn't quite understand what that meant until Laguna clarified.

"Oh the groomsmen have already been chosen. I told his fiance's father that they could pick them since Squall was still sleeping."

Squall groaned. 'Great, so I am marrying someone I don't know, with my groomsmen being people I don't know, in front of an audience I don't know, in a city I don't know. The only thing I do know doesn't matter. That I love Rinoa.'

* * *

Rinoa was slightly relieved. After struggling for a day against her restraints, tormented by the beeping of the most important message of her life on her phone, Rinoa had finally given up. She would be married to someone horrendous. Someone who wouldn't give a second thought about raping her. Someone she would detest from the moment she set foot down the aisle.

Rinoa looked at her bondage. Yes her future husband would probably tie her up like this and rape her helpless body.

'Fine,' Rinoa thought, 'if my life is meant to be a living hell, I'll be sure to make his life a living hell too!'

Her thoughts were interrupted by a high-pitched squeal coming from downstairs. Rinoa assumed it was the door.

"HIIIIIIIIIIIII Mr. Caraway!"

Rinoa heard a grunt in response to the cheerful female voice.

"Er, yea, anyway, we heard Rinny is getting married! We were wondering if she chose us as her bridesmaids!"

'Definitely Selphie.' Rinoa thought.

"No." The masculine voice was unmistakable. Caraway. "My daughter shall be accompanied by the wives of the groomsmen, all prestigious high ranking officials in the Galbadian Army! Not some little kid who doesn't know when to grow up!"

'Ouch.' Rinoa thought. 'Poor Selphie.'

"Oh thank you so much! Tell Rinny we'd be honored to be her… HEY! Wait a minute!"

Rinoa heard a door slam shut. She didn't have to see the event to know that Caraway had just slammed it in Selphie's face.

* * *

Squall had barely stepped off the train before he was ushered into the dressing room where a tux awaited him. 'Someone is sure in a rush to tie the knot.' Squall thought bitterly.

He looked at the tux. He sighed. 'Last time I wore one of these was with Rinoa, at her father's birthday. I mean, at Caraway's birthday.'

* * *

"Hey Seifer honey."

"Yes babe?"

"I'm going to a wedding with Selphie and Irvine. You wanna come?"

"Sure." Seifer exited the apartment. 'Wonder who's getting married.'

* * *

Squall stood silently. He decided to let his bangs cover his face. It'd be better if nobody saw the pain there.

He glanced at his groomsmen. 'They're pretty old. My fiancé has some pretty old tastes. Wait. What if she's that old too? Am I being forced to marry some 60-year-old granny? Oh my Hyne the honeymoon will be horrendous!' Squalls stomach turned at the thought.

He decided it would be better to think of something else. He glanced at the crowds. 'There sure are a lot of people. Laguna said only a few thousand were Estharians. So, maybe several hundred thousand Galbadians. Whoever I'm marrying, she must be pretty popular in her country. I wonder if Rinoa's among the crowd."

Squall knew he'd never spot her in the sea of people. He decided to stare at the ground instead.

* * *

"You dummy! I told you we should have arrived earlier!" Selphie swatted Irvine's shoulder.

"Hey darling! We're making our entrance! See? Everyone is looking at us now!" Irvine smiled as he tried to calm Selphie down.

"They're looking at us because you two are causing a scene." Quistis groaned and hid her face.

Selphie frowned at Quistis. "You're no fun!"

Seifer tagged behind the trio quietly. His eyes were on the groom. 'He stands like him. He has the hair like him. He did have an arranged marriage. I guess he was marrying a popular Galbadian girl. Wonder how Rinny feels about this.' Seifer scanned the crowd. 'I wonder why Rinny isn't here with us. Woulda thought Selphie and Quistis would have invited her too.'

Seifer followed the girls and cowboy to the only set of seats left, way in the back. 'Could it be that Rinoa is getting married?' He glanced at Selphie and Quistis. Selphie was wearing a bright yellow sundress; Quistis was in jeans and a pink shirt. 'Probably not. Selphie and Quisty woulda been the bridesmaids if she were.'

He took his seat to see whom his friend was about to marry.

* * *

The song started.

The doors opened.

The bride stood.

She was in pure white. Pure white gown. Pure white veil. Pure white train. Almost blindingly white.

Caraway approached the angel. He offered her his arm. She glanced down at it. She glanced up at his face. She refused to cooperate. She refused to give him her arm to lead her down the aisle to her doom. Her arm was snatched from her into Caraway's, trapped. Nobody noticed.

Rinoa half followed and was half dragged after Caraway down the red carpet. Down to her doom. She was glad nobody could see through her veil. They would have seen a river of tears. Ever since she was untied from her bed she had been crying. She was still crying. People would mistake it for tears of joy.

She glanced into the audience as she was led down the inappropriately long aisle. She saw mothers weeping, fathers cheering, and children smiling. Everyone was so happy. 'Everyone but me.' Rinoa thought gloomily.

As she glanced to her left she noticed a girl in yellow perched a top a tall man with a cowboy hat. 'What an odd display." She thought to herself before she recognized the girl waving frantically from her perch. She sure stood out amongst the crowd. Selphie always stood out.

'Great, my best friends will get to see me right before I kill myself as soon as I get some time alone on my honeymoon.'

* * *

Seifer poked Selphie. "Hey, who's the bride?" He couldn't see anything. There were about 30 columns of people between their seats and the aisle. About 2000 rows of people between his seat and the altar.

Selphie glanced down at him in amazement. "You don't know who the bride is?" She looked at Quistis to see if he was joking.

Seifer was getting annoyed. "Are you going to tell me or not? I don't think cowboy would like me climbing onto his shoulders."

Selphie blinked once more before replying. "It's Rinny you dummy! That's why we're here." She looked down at Irvine underneath her and Quistis to his side. "Isn't it?"

Before either one could confirm Seifer let out an obnoxious laugh. One which earned the glares of everyone around them in a 10-person radius. "Oh my Hyne! Are you serious?"

Selphie looked among her friends in confusion. "Yes?" She still wasn't sure if the joke was on her.

Quistis slapped Seifer before whispering harshly, "What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to cause a scene during Rinny's happiest day of her life?"

Seifer quieted his laugher and returned to his seat. The trio did likewise. "Squall told me Rinoa was in an arranged marriage."

Selphie and Quistis nodded. "Yes. That's what this is."

Seifer continued. "Squall said Rinoa didn't want to marry the dude."

The two girls nodded again, "Yes but I don't think you should say that too loud here. I mean. She IS getting married right now."

Seifer laughed, he hadn't gotten his point across yet. "Well, I always thought Rinoa loved Squall."

The girls were getting impatient. "Well yes, that's why she didn't want to go through with the arranged marriage but apparently she is. Be happy for her. This is her wedding day. It's supposed to be the happiest day of her life so don't ruin it!"

Seifer was a little bored playing with them. "So, have either of you actually looked at the groom?"

Selphie and Quistis turned to look at each other. They both immediately stood up.

"I can't see!" complained Selphie.

Quistis turned back to Seifer. "We can't see; who's the groom?"

Seifer laughed. "Squall."

The two girls' were speechless so Seifer explained.

"Squall was also supposed to be in an arranged marriage. It's why we ran away to Deling City. To avoid the thing."

Realization was dawning on the two girls. Seifer glanced up to see Irvine was eyeing a blonde in the 1998th row obviously not caring about what Seifer was explaining. He smirked before returning his attention back to Selphie and Quistis.

"So anyway, Squall left a few days ago. He was really mad. I think Rinoa broke up with him, probably to go through with her arranged marriage. I assumed Squall was going back to Esthar to submit to his own arranged marriage. It's kind of ironic ain't it? The two lovebirds were avoiding their arranged marriages so that they could marry each other instead, except if they had just submitted to it earlier they would have been married already with so much less heartache. Now though, they've broken up and are both resigned to living a life of regrets but in a few moments and a few 'I do's they'll be living there wildest dreams."

* * *

Squall heard the music start. He heard the cheers. He didn't care. He didn't care if it was rude. He didn't care if he was insulting his future wife. He didn't care if he was embarrassing Esthar. He refused to turn to look at her. He kept his back to his future wife. Instead he studied his feet. The shoes were definitely black.

'I wonder what type of black Rinoa would call them.'

* * *

Rinoa finally arrived to the altar. Her husband hadn't looked at her once during the thirty-minute crawl up to the stupid altar. 'What a jerk! Can't even look me in the face! I knew this was the type of guy Caraway would find for me! Completely uncaring. Completely unkind. If this is his idea of a comfortable life then I think he needs to check his definition… of both comfortable… and life.'

Rinoa took one last sweep around the audience. 'I wonder if Squall is here. He wasn't with Selphie and Irvine. I wonder if he's really mad at me for not returning his call. He was invited. He's from Esthar. I wonder if I'll ever see him again.'

Rinoa looked back at her future husband. He was still staring away from her. 'Probably not. This guy doesn't look too friendly. He'll probably tie me down to the bed like Caraway did. Then rape me every night.' Rinoa thought bitterly.

She was grateful however that neither nightmare came true. The man wasn't crippled and he wasn't a walking skeleton. He seemed to be a decently built man. Brown hair. 'I'll soon belong to this man.' Rinoa thought sadly. 'He'll take me whenever he wants.' Rinoa stared at his hair some more. It was just about as long as she remembered Squall's was. It looked almost as silky too. 'Hyne! I'm going to be thinking of Squall whenever I look at him. He'll be so mad if I accidently scream Squall's name during our honeymoon.'

Rinoa quickly turned her attention to something besides the brown hair. The brown hair that looked like Squall's. The long brown hair that looked like Squall's. The long brown silky hair that looked and felt like Squall's. 'Hyne Damnit! Stop!' Rinoa turned her attention to her bridesmaids. 'Boy, these girls look sorta old. Still, they're probably more fun than this old fart I'm marrying over here.'

* * *

Squall had been lost in thought. Thoughts about the future. Thoughts about the past. Thoughts about anything but the present. 'Why am I here? Why did I go back? Why am I marrying someone other than Rinoa?'

He chanced a glance at his bride. 'Good she's not looking at me.'

He turned his head to get a good look at her. Well, a good look at the back of her head.

Squall couldn't see much. She was in a blindingly white wedding dress. Squall noted it was made from Galbadian Silk like Rinoa's custom-made dress for Caraway's birthday. 'Expensive stuff. Looks like I got stuck with a stuck-up bitch. She'll probably demand all the expensive stuff. She probably only cares about how beautiful she looks and how much her reputation will grow by marrying into the presidential family of Esthar. And Laguna thought she was a nice girl. What a fool!'

Squall watched as some of his bride's raven black hair peaked out from under her wedding dress train. He grimaced. 'Just like Rinoa. Oh Hyne! I'm going to choke during our honeymoon! I won't be able to stop thinking about Rinoa.'

Squall shook his head to clear it. He decided he needed to stop thinking of his bride. He didn't want to breakdown in front of this many people. Breaking down in front of Ellone was bad enough.

He turned his attention to the crowds. It was obvious he wasn't paying attention to the minister going on and on about the sanctity of marriage, the holiness of union, and some other bullshit Squall really didn't bother to care about. Squall scanned the crowd. 'There sure are a lot of people.'

If it wasn't for a small figure in yellow way in the back that had ceased to sit, Squall probably would have never been able to pick a single face from the crowd. As it were, he was able to pick out that the obnoxious girl jumping up and down waving her hands frantically annoying everyone near her, was actually Selphie. He noticed the cowboy hat next to her was probably Irvine, some girl in pink next to him was probably Quistis and then it looked like Seifer was next to her.

Squall frowned. There wasn't a black haired girl on either side of the four. They were surrounded by more blondes. 'Where's Rinoa? Why isn't she here? Maybe she truly hates me now. After all, she didn't return my call. My plea. Then again, she didn't even know I would be in this wedding. She only knew I was being forced to marry someone someday.'

Squall glanced back at the minister, he was still talking but he was also glaring at Squall. The minister's right hand seemed to be trying to signal him to turn back around, to face the front. Squall smirked. 'Fat chance old man.' He decided to do something even more unorthodox. He glanced at his soon-to-be-wife. 'Sorry honey. You can either forgive me later or not. Like I'll care.'

* * *

Rinoa was deep in thought. She had long since given up listening to the minister's long-winded speech. At first she had tried listening for mentions of love, maybe then she could shout to the world that there was no love in this marriage and get out of it. Unfortunately she had trouble listening to the monotonous drone of the old man's voice. She found her mind skipping entire segments of his speech.

She still hadn't been able to see her groom's face. 'And Caraway said he was friendly. He's no where near as friendly as President Loire and his daughter were.'

Rinoa was torn from her thoughts. Everyone else was also torn from his or hers.

"RINOA! WHERE ARE YOU?"

It had come from right beside her. 'It can't be.' Rinoa whirled towards the voice. It sounded like… "Squall?"

* * *

Squall heard a voice. 'It sounded just like Rinoa.' But it was much closer than he expected it to come from. He was expecting a faint voice in the distant corner of the massive throng of people. This one had come from someone closer. Someone at the altar. Someone standing besides him.

He whirled around to look into the face of his bride. She lifted her veil. The minister cried foul. Squall didn't care. His bride didn't care.

'Rinoa?'

Squall blinked.

* * *

Rinoa blinked.

* * *

The four in the audience held their breath. It was the moment they had all been waiting for. It was going to be the happiest day in both of their lives!

Selphie could barely contain her excitement; she was still bouncing on the balls of her feet. The other three had all stood upon Squall's exclamation.

* * *

The audience grew restless. Whispers ran rampart.

What was the hold up? Why did things stop? Why'd he shout out her name?

* * *

The minister shook his head. 'Ungrateful youths! People don't know the meaning of marriage anymore!'

He decided to continue where he left off before he was rudely interrupted. There were hundreds of thousands of people here eager to hear his speech. Yes, they were here to hear his speech, not witness two young rogues mess it up!

* * *

It all happened in the same instant. In one they had both blinked simultaneously. The next they had moved towards each other. Squall taking a few quick steps, arms rising to hug her. Rinoa gathering her gown and leaping at Squall.

What Squall had intended for a hug, ended up being used to catch his flying bride. Squall caught Rinoa in the middle and Rinoa caught Squall's head in her hands.

It didn't take another moment before both heads were joined. Joined at the lips. A deep kiss. A long kiss. For them the world vanished. The hundreds of thousands of spectators vanished. The annoyingly dull minister vanished. It was just them. Them in their instant. An instant that stretched on for an eternity.

* * *

The four friends in the back of the audience went wild. Cheering, hooting, hollering. The rest of the audience stared at them as if they were as crazy as the couple being married.

* * *

"Ahem."

…

"Ahem!"

…

"AHEM!"

The two at the altar finally separated. They turned to look at the man coughing. The minister. He didn't look too happy.

"You're supposed to do that AFTER the 'I do's." The old man had a scowl on his face.

Squall and Rinoa looked at each other. It took a lot of willpower to not just ignore the man and go back to kissing each other. But they managed.

Instead, they turned as one to the minister and shouted, "I do!" then turned back to resume their kissing.

This time, their four friends weren't the only ones cheering. The entire audience had risen to their feet and cheered. The minister frantically tried to get everyone to quiet down so he could continue his monologue.

Nobody listened.

Everyone was cheering, screaming, hollering. Confetti was falling; tears were falling, tears of happiness, tears that could be found on the couple as well, tears that had replaced the couple's tears of sorrow only moments earlier.

The newly weds only had one thought on their mind that didn't concern what they wanted to do to the other that night.

'So this is our life. Did we choose it? Or was it chosen for us?'

* * *

**End**

**Author Note: Thanks to everyone who read the story. Special thanks to anonymous reviewers K and none for reviewing just about every chapter. I hope the ending wasn't too bad, I might write an epilogue but I haven't really decided yet. I'm sorry if you were hoping for some grand answer to the initial question about whether we really choose our own destiny or not. But i figure it should just get you thinking about the question. It's kind of like the question of the Meaning of Life, I'm sure someone told you it was to be happy, to go to heaven, to help others, to invent the next big thing, to make lots of money, to save the planet, whatever. Honestly, it's just to reproduce and continue your species so the human race doesn't become extinct, sorry to break it to you, there is no noble meaning to anything, that's just humanity trying to make ourselves feel better. So like that, the actual question of whether we can actually choose our own destiny is just as pointless, yes we have choices but you'll never know what would have happened if you did something different.**

**In this story one could argue that the whole story was pointless. Both Rinoa and Squall ended up being forced to marry in their respective arranged marriages. However, one could also argue that the point of going about it in this long drawn out way wasn't so pointless because, if they had accepted their arranged marriage, would they have loved each other? I think not. Both would have came to the marriage resentful and merely there for appearances on their father's behalves. The means to which Squall and Rinoa found themselves at their ends is why it was a happy ending even though its the same ending as could have been concocted in the first chapter.**

**Just a heads up, I have two other FF8 fics going, To Find Again and Rinoa for President. I have no clue where either one is really going. To Find Again is more of a high school fic (although I haven't actually gotten them into high school yet) and Rinoa for President is more of an alternate storyline to FF8 its supposed to be humorous. Rinoa for President was supposed to be more of an interactive fic, reviewers were supposed to find the references I planted in every chapter and once I saw that someone had found them I was going to post the next update, but so far nobody has even attempted it so, who knows if I'll update it soon. To Find Again is just my attempt of finding songs to go with the ending of each chapter.**

**Unlike these two remaining fics inprogress, To Choose was always supposed to be 13 chapters. If you noticed, each chapter is mentioned in the first chapter, each is a comment by their fathers and that's also the order of the chapters, most of them were proving themselves wrong but they thought they were proving their fathers wrong at the time.**

**I have other story ideas up on my profile that I may or may not actually write. If you think any of them sound better than the others then you can PM me with your suggestion or whatever.**

**Finally, I have one story that is most like To Choose, Acceptance. It's most likely to be like To Choose because it will be planned out from the beginning. Well, if i can't wrap it up in an outline then it'll probably never show up on here. It's a FFX/FFX2 fic though (Which if you have never played FFX then I really think you need to play that one. FFX2, not so much).**

**I know I said Finally above, but here's my Final Finally, all you other authors need to write more Tuna and Squinoa and RyuxChunLi fics because I'm seriously out and pulling my hair out over here.**

**P.S. Just for random information purposes. I finished writing this while my itunes was playing The Warning by Eminem.  
**


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